Palace Couple
by zkjanie
Summary: Zuko and Katara hate each other. But what will happen when they find out that they're supposed to get married all because of a twothousand year old promise? Yeah, I know summary sucks. But, whatever. AU ZUTARA!
1. The Meeting

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…**

**This fanfic was based on the Korean drama called "Princess Hours". So if it sounds somewhat familiar, just refer back to that. And yes, I didn't even finish my other story, but this idea just came to me in the middle of the night, so I just started writing it…**

**Also, the first paragraph of this chapter only is regular Avatar time, and then after that, the rest is AU.**

**Enjoy **

**Palace Couple**

Two thousand years ago, before the dreaded war even began, there were two men. One of them was a crown prince, destined to become king of his nation. The other was just a low-life pauper, destined to do what any other poor person would do. However, they were the best of friends, even though the prince was from the Fire Nation and the pauper was from the Water Tribes. The _Southern _Water Tribe to be exact. They were so close as friends that they wanted to become family. So they decided on a contract that their great-great-great-great-great grandchildren would wed through an arranged marriage. And the contract was set. They each got themselves a special ring to pass down through generations until it got to their great-great-great-great-great grandchildren. And indeed, they still kept the ring and the promise to this very day.

_Modern Time (__**A/N:**__ This is where the AU part begins.)_

"Hey Katara, did you hear about the prince?" Toph asked.

"What about him?"

"It turns out, he's transferring into our school!" Toph replied.

"(gasp) Really?! No way!!" Katara and Toph screamed their heads off in excitement, even though they new almost nothing about him.

"Hey! You two! What are you doing loitering in the hallway?!" Mr. Pakku asked.

"…"

"Well. Since you two are loitering and not answering me, you two both have cleaning duty! Now get going!" Mr. Pakku walked away leaving Katara and Toph with their jaws on the floor.

"Wha- What the heck! That's not fair! We didn't do anything!" Top complained.

"Yeah, I know! Oh well, we better get to work, before we get in trouble for no reason again." Katara said. Once they were done cleaning most of the hallways, Toph went to get some more sponges while Katara left to get some clean water and a new towel. But right as she was walking, she tripped over her own two feet, therefore dropping the large can of water. The dirty water splashed all over another students shoes. Katara gasped and slowly looked up to find that she had accidentally dropped water all over Prince Zuko's shoes!

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I'll clean it right up!" Katara hurriedly grabbed the towel and quickly started cleaning his shoes. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought she couldn't even breathe. _How could I have ruined the Prince's shoes?! I'm going to get in so much trouble!_

"Ugh! Stop it! Just take these and throw them away!" Zuko threw his now dirty shoes at Katara and walked away, making her furious! She had had enough. First, she got in trouble for no reason, cleaned the school until her fingers were pruny, and now this retarded prince of jerks was yelling at her for trying to clean his shoes?!

"(scoff) Hey! You! You know what? I've had, like, the worst day today so far, and I don't need you to go and make it worse than it already is! Just because some you're some prince who's going to become king, doesn't mean that you get to rule the school! At home, I'm treated like a princess!" Katara's yelling caught everyone's eye, making her the center of attention. But even though she just yelled her heart out, Prince Zuko just ignored her and kept walking. That's when an idea popped in her head. She slowly grabbed the shoe lying on the floor, aimed it at him, and threw it right at Zuko's back, and getting a perfect shot.

Oh, but unfortunately, that hit made Zuko twice as furious as she was. He froze in place, slowly turned around, and walked toward Katara, making her a bit scared and she shrunk back to her nervous self. When he noticed this, he came dangerously close to her.

"You've got guts…I like that." He smirked and walked away again as everyone in the crowd surrounding them whooped and cheered thinking that he might've _liked_ her. As he walked out the door, he ignored all the questions asked by the students, and leaving Katara at a loss of words.

Meanwhile, back at Zuko's palace and Katara's house, the king and Katara's father were staring at the promised ring from two thousand years ago.

To be continued…

**I hope you guys liked it. It was actually supposed to end a little shorter than this, but when I look back at the reviews I got for my other story, I've decided to make it a bit longer. And, I'm sorry if the description wasn't good enough. (I'm really bad at that)**

**R'n'R**

**-zkjanie**


	2. The Proposal

Disclaimer: I own nothing…

Hey ppls!! Here's chapter 2!

Palace Couple

After Zuko left, Katara just scoffed again. _What arrogance!_

_**RING!!!!!!!**_

It was the bell. Everyone scurried to their classrooms, hoping not to be late. Katara and Toph hurried to their singing class. When they got to their seats, everyone started chatting and whispering with their friends.

"Hey, sugarqueen, did you practice for the singing test today?" Toph took out her song sheets out.

"Singing test? What singing test?" she was confused_. Hmm, I don't remember the teacher saying anything about a singing test today._

"Katara! Pay attention!" Professor Pakku said. "Actually since you love talking so much, why don't you go up front and center, and start your test."

"Wha-Oh, fine." She went up in front of the class and started her singing. She looked around and saw that the class was half asleep with boredom from her dreaded singing.

"lalalalalala" she sang off-tune. Which got her audience's attention for sure.

"LaLaLaLaLa" she sang even louder, making her classmates WIDE awake.

"LALALALALA" she sang even louder than before. Her audience's face filled with shock and surprise.

"**LALALALALA"** she yelled.

"STOP!!" screamed her class.

_**RING!!!!!!**_

It was the last bell for the day, time to go home. Everyone ran straight out of school and separated to different directions, toward their homes. Katara, however, just walked eating a yummy popsicle and complaining about her stupid grade.

"Oh, god, another C. I got another C. my luck." And she took another lick at her popsicle. "Well, one good thing came out today. This popsicle is so good!!"

"You want to get married?"

_WHAT?! _She slowly turned around to see who it was.

"Aww, that's really flattering but--EGH?!?!" she turned around completely just to find that retard Zuko proposing to some other girl. She quickly snuck around a tree, to eavesdrop.

"Get married? But we're only seventeen!" that other girl said. _Hmm, where have I seen her before? (gasp) Oh yeah! It's Jin! (__**A/N:**__ It's Jin from Tales of Ba Sing Se)_

"Well, the palace rules for the crown prince states that crown princes have to get married earlier than most people to keep the royal family line going. Zuko explained. " And if I don't propose to someone myself, they'll choose someone for me. And, well, I don't want to get married to a stranger."

"…No." Jin responded. "I told you, we're still only seventeen, and besides, you know about my dream to be a professional performer. If I marry you, won't I have to study about the history of the palace and all that?"

"Yeah"

"Well, if I'm going to have to study all that, it won't let my have my dream come true." she finished. Katara listened carefully and tried her best not to make a sound. But for some strange reason, she wanted to scratch her leg. She cautiously looked down; not wanting to know what was bothering her leg, and what did she find? A dog!! She found a little mutt standing right next to her!

"Huh? A dog? And in such an important situation? Hey, move. Get away from me" she whispered. But when she looked at it more carefully, she realized that this mutt was licking her leg!!

"**GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU DIRTY DOG!!! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO LICK ME?!?! HUH?!"** she yelled. Zuko and Jin, hearing Katara's yelling, immediately turned around and saw her choking the poor dog, even though her back was completely to them.

"Who's there?!"

To be continued…

Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter. I worked pretty hard for this short chapter. I think I'm a short-chapter-writing-person. And sorry if the characteristics didn't really match them, but trust me, it'll work out once Aang, Jet, and Iroh come in…

That's all for now, R'n'R

-zkjanie


	3. The Acceptance

Disclaimer: I own nothing…

Yeah I know it's short, so next time, I swear to try to make it longer.

Oh, and thank you so much for all that reviewed and read this fanfic. It really means a lot.

Palace Couple

"Who's there?!"

"Hey you, turn this way! Zuko said. Now Katara was in tons of trouble.

"Ha…Ha…Ha," she replied. "Um, I am not who you think I am." _Oh, shoot!_

"Hey! Turn around!" he shouted. "You weren't eavesdropping on us, were you?"

"What are you talking about? I wasn't listening! I didn't even know you were here! I was just…playing this dog!" she lied. _Well, looks like the only thing to do now is…RUN!! _And she took off as fast as she could.

"Hey, you! Girl with the pouch! Stop! STOP!" he yelled, but it was too late.

_Meanwhile…_

Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!

Hakoda, Katara's father picked up the phone to answer.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is this Hakoda? Father of Miss Katara?" the man answered.

"Uh, yes. Who is this?"

"This is Mr. Jee, assistant to the King, from the Royal Palace." With a serious and stern voice.

"(gasp) Oh, why, it's an honor to be called by one from the palace! But, why is it that you called?" he asked, his voice filled with curiosity.

"I believe you've heard about the promise and the ring. Am I right?"

"Well, yes, but--"

"Do you have the ring?"

"Yes"

"Well then, you should also be aware of the fact that your daughter is the one to wed. It just so happens that Crown Prince Zuko is also the one to wed. Do you accept the fact that your daughter and the King's son will have to get married?" he asked with seriousness.

"That I understand, but--" he was cut off again.

"Then will you accept for your daughter to get married to the Crown Prince?"

"Uh, um…"

"It's either now or never."

"..Yes, my daughter shall marry the Crown Prince." He said hesitantly. _Should I have accepted for her? Well, we are in need of money, and if Katara marries the Crown Prince, we'll be able to pay off our debt._

Z-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------K

(In the limo)

"So, here is the schedule Prince Zuko. At 4:30, you will have a meeting with the King," Mr. Iroh said. (**A/N:** In this story, Iroh isn't Zuko's uncle but more of a secretary type person who treats Zuko like a nephew.)

"Oh, goody." Zuko said sarcastically.

"At 6:30, you will eat dinner with the Queen…"

"That's just great." He looked out the window with boredom when he spotted someone. It was that eavesdropping girl!

"Hey! Stop the car!" he yelled. He walked out of the car and toward the crowd of people that Katara was with. He told his bodyguards to go and shoo the people away as he went to have a little chat with Katara. _Ha! She's finally going to pay for listening in on me and Jin!_

"Hey girl! We need to talk…now," he said.

Katara turned around and came face-to-face with Zuko.

To be continued…

(gasp) what do you think will happen next?

I don't even know yet…R'n'R

-zkjanie


	4. The Picture

Disclaimer: I own nothing…

Well, here's chapter 4…

Palace Couple

"Hey girl! We need to talk…now!" he said.

"(gasp) Uh, um…" she said back. Wow, was she scared or what. She tried to walk away, but she was just stopped by a bunch of some of his stupid bodyguards.

Zuko smirked, "Like I said, we need to talk."

"Ugh, fine! What do ya want?"

"You were the one eavesdropping on me earlier to day, right? Wait, why am I even asking? It's obviously you, since you have that pouch from before." He said.

"…"

"Anyway, who the heck do you think you are?! I personally can get you in jail for eavesdropping on the Crown Prince." He lied, though in reality, he wasn't really able to do that. He didn't have enough power yet. But he succeeded in scaring her because she was so scared that she completely broke down and told the truth.

"I'm sorry! Okay? But I swear I didn't tell anyone!" she confessed. Just as Zuko was about to reply, Mr. Iroh came up to them.

"Uh, Prince Zuko, we really should be going right now…" Mr. Iroh shyly said.

"Fine. But if you dare even to think about telling anyone about the conversation I had, you don't even know how much your going to regret it." And with that, he left. Once again, making Katara mad and she stomped her way home. Little did each of them know, from around a corner, reporters and photographers were recording what they said and taking pictures, starting the scandalous rumor between the famous Prince Zuko and the nobody-knows-her Katara.

One hour later in the Royal Palace, Aang had finally arrived from his long vacation in Florida where he learned the art of fire (firebending).

"Hey everyone, I'm back! And I finally got through the art of fire!" Aang had a great time in Florida, but he absolutely missed his home in the Palace. Right then, Zuko entered the room, not knowing that Aang was back. Until now. For he and Aang didn't really have a good friendship between them.

Another hour later in the meeting room, Zuko walked in and sat in front of his father, King Ozai.

"You called to see me?" Zuko asked, his voice filled with boredom.

"Yes, I did. Have you picked out your bride yet?" his Majesty asked.

"Well…"

"Apparently you didn't. That's good."

"How is that good?'

"Because we already chose a bride for you." He said.

"You did?'

"Yes, and as it turns out, she goes to your school!" he said with enthusiasm, which as actually pretty rare, considering his reputation of being mean and harsh.

"(gasp) She does?"

"Hey, here's a picture of her, if you want to see who it is. And, she is actually pretty cute-looking too." He said and walked away, leaving only Zuko and the picture in the lonely room. Zuko carefully picked up the picture from the table, hoping it would be Jin. But when he looked at it, he almost screamed. _Almost_. Instead, his eyes widened, his jaws fell to the floor, and his face covered in shock.

It was someone whom he had least expected.

Z--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------K

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" Katara hollered. "Why of all people do I have to get married?! And to that retarded prince of jerks?! I mean, come on, this is totally unfair!"

"Well, I'm sorry if you don't want to, honey, but you still have to. This promise was made by your great-great-great-great-great grandfather and the King of that time! It's sacred!" Hakoda said.

"But, but, still! It's not fair!"

"Besides Katara, I already told the King you would do it."

"You what?!?! Dad!! How could you?!" she whined.

"Oh come one, Katara. Just marry the guy. I mean, what can possibly go wrong?" Sokka entered the room.

To be continued…

Yay!! Sokka finally came in! I was starting to wonder if he would ever come in. Then again, he does have the second biggest relationship with someone in this story. But that'll be a secret. Anyway, did u like it? Did u hate it? Don't know?

R'n'R

-zkjanie


	5. The Accident

Disclaimer: I own nothing…

Hello peoples! I have something to say today: Don't Drink and Drive! Anyways, please review!!

Palace Couple

"Oh come one, Katara. Just marry the guy. I mean, what can possibly go wrong?" Sokka entered the room with the ring.

"Um, a million things can go wrong. Not only that, Jet's gonna freak!" Katara yelled.

"Jet? He's still your boyfriend?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, besides it's not _you_ who's going to have to marry him. Oh, wait! I know, you're kidding right? Ha, Ha, very funny, guys, very funny." She panicked. She kept laughing nervously, but the rest of her family were dead silent. Well, except for Sokka, who was chewing noisily on a piece of chicken.

"Ha, Ha, why aren't you laughing?" she asked nervously, almost insanely.

"Because you're going to marry him." Said Hakoda.

"Well, whatever, I'm going to the palace tomorrow to tell the King I said 'NO!' and I'm going to give back the ring, so give it up, Sokka!!" she yelled.

Meanwhile…

Aang and Zuko were having a talk in the living room at the Palace.

"Hey, Zuko! What's up?" Aang cheerfully asked.

"Ugh, what do you want?"

"I just came to say congrats."

"For what?"

"You agreeing to get married." He said.

"What? I never agreed to get married!'

"Well, that's what the King said."

"Well, I never said I was going to, all I did was look at the picture."

"Hmm" Aang replied. He walked over to Zuko's desk and picked up the picture."

"Is this her?" Aang looked at the picture and had a dreaming look in his eyes.

"Yeah. God, she's such a pain."

"Wow, she's pretty…" Aang said dreamily.

The Next Day…

"Are you sure you want to do this Katara?" Hakoda asked, "I mean, we'll get money!"

"Yeah, Katara, and we'll get food! Food!!!" Sokka said.

"No you guys! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go now." Katara replied. Katara, with confident, left the house and ran across the street to catch the bus. When the bus got to her stop, she ran across the street again. But the only difference this time was the drunk driver who accidentally ran over her, knocking her out unconscious into the street. Almost instantly, everyone there quickly crowded Katara's body. And one concerned person even called the ambulance. The ambulance came immediately and took her body to the North Tribe Hospital.

Once she finally got settled in, a large group of people, which included Hakoda, Sokka, Toph, and Jet, came barging in to the hospital room.

"Doctor, what happened to Katara?" Hakoda asked. Everyone was so worried about her, mostly because they all loved her, but also because she was supposed to show up at the Royal Palace over one hour ago. Hopefully, Katara's news reached them.

"Well, one question first, does she have anything to do with the Palace?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah, but, why does that matter?" Sokka asked.

"I don't really know how to say this, but, um, she lost all memory of having anything to do with the palace." The doctor sadly replied. Everyone was completely shocked. How could she have lost all memory of the Palace? She was supposed to go there today. Right then, his and her majesty (the king and queen) came running in followed by a group of big bodyguards.

"What happened?" Her majesty asked.

"She lost all memory of having anything to do with the Palace, including the betrothal." Hakoda replied. His and Her majesty gasped as well as the bodyguards.

To be continued…

Well, I hope you liked it, um, I decided to have Ursa not dead. I usually hate writing fics with people losing their memory, but I think this'll work.

R'n'R

-zkjanie


	6. The Headache

Disclaimer: I own nothing…

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a bit, but my infuriating anger towards Mai for kissing Katara's Zuko (note: I said _Katara's _Zuko) has now turned into a small piss. But I still feel like killing her, but no worries! Zutara will survive! It's already winning, so it's on its way to victory!!

So here's Chapter 7! Enjoy!!

Palace Couple

"She has no memory of having anything to do with the palace, including the betrothal." Hakoda replied. His and Her majesty gasped, as well as their bodyguards.

"Luckily, it's only temporary. Her memory can return at any time." The doctor said.

His and Her majesty walked up to Hakoda. "Well, what's there to do now?" Her Majesty asked.

"Maybe we can splash water on her! That always works!!" Sokka insisted. Immediately, Hakoda put a hand over Sokka's mouth.

"This is no time for your little jokes, Sokka." Hakoda said. "Well, since the wedding is in a few days, why don't we just go through that, and then try to get her memory back? Hmm?" Everyone thought about it and nodded. Except Jet. He still wasn't all…happy about the wedding between _his_ girlfriend and Zuko. Anyway, Hakoda and Sokka signed Katara out of the hospital as everyone else left. And they drove her home so Katara can get her rest.

* * *

"Prince Zuko, we need to talk to you." His and Her majesty said. They were waiting in the meeting room with worried faces wondering how Zuko's face expression would be when they deliver the news.

"Yeah?" Zuko's head popped into the room. Then he entered and sat across from his mom and dad.

"Well, you know that Katara is going to be your future wife. Um, just this afternoon, um, Katara was in a tragic accident."

"Did she die?" Zuko asked with a tint of concern running through his voice.

"No, it's just; she doesn't seem to remember having anything to do with the betrothal, us, the palace. Including you." Ursa delivered. Even though Zuko had just met her and experienced some bad things with her, like the shoe and dog incident, he still somewhat cared for her. Of course, that tiny little feeling was pushed back into the little corner where all his uncontrollable emotions were. He was speechless.

"Say again? I didn't really catch that." He replied.

"Zuko, I know this is hard for you, but try to sink this all in. We're still going to through with the marriage and all, but it'll be after the wedding that we'll try to get her memory back. Ok?" Her majesty said.

"Uh, fine." And with that, he left and went to his room to think.

* * *

The room was dead silent, as Hakoda entered the Katara's room. Hopefully, her memory will return pretty soon, so that they can get through the wedding in peace. Just as Hakoda was about to sit down, Katara's eyes slowly started to open. She then asked what happened to her. Apparently, her memory didn't come back while she was sleeping.

"Where am I?" Katara asked. She started to get up, but Hakoda gently pushed her back to the bed.

"You're in your room. It's fine. Sokka's getting you some water." Hakoda said. "Are you okay? Are you feeling any better?

"What are you talking about, dad? Nothing happened. Right?" Katara asked curiously. How confusing it must've been for her. Her dad keep asking her is she was okay.

"Um, Katara, I don't really know how to say this. But, um, you were in an accident." Hakoda told her hesitantly. "And you lost part of your memory."

"W-what?" _An accident? What accident? What's he talking about?_

"You lost your memory!" Sokka yelled across the room as he entered with the water.

"Sokka!"

"What? It's true." Sokka said innocently.

"W-what's going on?" Katara started to panic. Everything was starting to get a little confusing. Suddenly, she felt a painful bump on her head, where the car hit her. She yelled and cried about how much it hurt. Sokka quickly ran out of the room to fetch her some ice.

"Katara! Are you okay?" Hakoda abruptly stood up and put his palm on Katara's forehead to feel her temperature. _Maybe it's better not to tell her about the palace right now. _

To be continued…

Well, there you go!! Sorry if it sounds a little off, I wrote this while listening to " If I Could Have You Back" by Aly & AJ. Hehe…

-zkjanie


	7. The Day at School

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…**

Palace Couple

_Maybe it's better not to tell her about the palace right now. _Sokka ran in with the ice and quickly put it on her bump and let her rest. As quietly as they can, Sokka and Hakoda left the room.

The next day in the morning when Katara was still asleep, Sokka snuck into her room and gently woke her up. She opened her eyes a few times until she was wide awake.

"Huh? What's going on? Why'd you wake me up? I was in the middle of a great dream!!" Katara yelled at her brother. Seeing as she was her normal self again, Sokka yelled back at her face that she had to go to school. Hakoda overhearing all this yelling and screaming and ran into the room.

"What's with all this noise?!" he overpowered his kids with his enormous voice. Katara and Sokka both looked down on the floor in shame for yelling at each other so early in the morning. "Isn't anyone going to answer me? Sokka?"

"Well, she yelled at me first!" he complained. As soon as he finished, Katara immediately spoke up.

"Well, he woke me up for no reason." She suddenly wanted to smack herself for coming up with the lamest excuse.

"Now, now, you two. Katara, I told Sokka to wake you up. You have to get ready to school. I was about to keep you home today because of the accident, but seeing as your yelling so much, I think you should go to school today. Now, both of you get ready." And with that, Hakoda left the room as well as Sokka.

When they both finally got to school, they separated and headed to their friends. Immediately, a large group of people crowded Katara. Apparently, the news about her in being in an accident and losing part of her memory was spread all around the school.

Everyone kept asking her, "Are you okay, Katara?!" and, "Does you head hurt a lot, Katara?!" and all that. But the question that really bothered her was, "Do you remember me, Katara?"

"Will everyone just leave me alone?! Yeah, I remember all of you, duh! Why wouldn't I?!' she yelled at the crowded hovering all over her. Everyone, hearing her loud and furious yell quickly backed away from her. But then, Toph and Jet quickly ran to her and tried to calm her down. Jet, being her boyfriend and all, obviously wanted to calm her down. And Toph, being one of her best friends, wanted to do the same.

"It's okay, Katara, just calm down!" Toph and jet both yelled.

"Calm down?! I'm completely calm!!" Katara lied. "S-sorry." She just realized who she was yelling at and apologized. Then she walked to her class. Toph followed her, but Jet just walked away. Away to talk with Zuko, the Prince of which his girlfriend would have to get married to. He looked around the school and found him talking to Jin. He slyly walked up to them.

"Hey, you're Zuko, right?" Jet asked. Of course, he knew. But he wanted to make a new approach.

"Yeah, and who are you?" Zuko asked. Jin, noticing that Jet didn't want her around right now, walked away herself. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of a conversation?"

"Whatever, you're the one who's going to marry Katara, right?" Jet, once again knowing that this was true, asked anyway.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Zuko asked suspiciously.

"Well, you won't be marrying _my _girlfriend anymore." Jet said, making his voice deeper than it already was so that he sounded scary.

"_You're _girlfriend? I didn't know she had a boyfriend, and a scrawny at that." Zuko said carelessly.

"Wh-what? Scrawny?! Well, at least I don't have a scar covering half my face?!" Jet yelled back victoriously. But, little did he know that his little comeback about his scar was the one thing that was able to set Zuko's pride on burning fire. Immediately, Zuko's face twisted into pure anger, his arm came shooting through the air, and his fist punched Jet's face across the cheek sending him 8 feet back from where he was standing. Jet sat up and checked to see his face where the blood was seeping through and stood. He ran towards Zuko and equally punched his face as well. And the fight had begun.

**To be continued…**

**I hope you liked it. And the fight was just something came to me, like 10 seconds ago. I'm normally really bad at writing fights, and this is, like, my second attempt to write a fight. So please tell me how I did. Be brutal. XD**

**R'n'R**

**-zkjanie**


	8. The Talk

**Disclaimer: I own nothing...**

* * *

Palace Couple

And the fight had begun. Zuko and Jet kept on punching each other in the face and kicking each other in the shin and stuff. Pretty hard too. A massive group of kids surrounded the two fighting teens and cheered, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" over and over. But everything was stopped when Professor Pakku and some of Zuko's bodyguards came. They cleared their way through the crowd and found Zuko and Jet still fighting. The bodyguards quickly separated the two and dragged them to the nurse to get rid of the blood. Once they were all clean, they were immediately sent to the principal's office.

"Now, what is up with you all this fighting between you boys?" the principal asked sternly. None of the two boys spoke up, obviously. After a moment of silence, another student was brought into the office instead. He was a witness who had watched the whole fight from the beginning.

"Uh, you! Foaming-student! Can you tell me what happened here?" the principal asked.

"Um, well, you see, they were just talking and all, but then Jet made fun of Prince Zuko's scar and stuff. So he became really mad and AHH!!!" the foaming-guy started blabbering, until his mouth filled with foam and he collapsed.

"Well, I think that pretty much explains it all. Looks like you, Jet, started this, You should know not to make fun of your fellow students' appearances. Especially the Crown Prince to our country." the principal lectured. "And Zuko, try not to lose your temper so easily. Now you two are dismissed, but i want you to think about what happened and it better no happen again." The principal had them go back to their classes just as the bell rang for lunch. Their little meeting had lasted an hour. Anyway, once Zuko and Jet left the office, Jet headed to Katara to have a talk. And Zuko headed off to buy his lunch. Jet found Katara eating lunch with Toph and the new kid that she was introduced to, Aang. He quickly sat down next to the three and started making conversation.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Jet started. Toph and Aang were too busy playing with rocks and didn't hear Jet's question. Seeing this, Jet quietly pulled Katara aside to have a nice chat. They headed off behind the school and he made his "Freedom Fighters" make sure that no one else was there to overhear their conversation.

"Um, hi Jet. What's going on?" Katara asked curiously. Jet just stared at her thinking of how to give her the news then began.

"Um, Katara, I know you have to get married and all pretty soon. But I was just thinking that maybe you don't have to do all this. You know, you can turn them down and be with me." Jet said looking down. Jet looked up at Katara to find her giving him a confused face. "What? What's wrong?"

"Marry? What are you talking about? Turn who down?" Katara confusingly asked. Obviously she was confused. One that Jet was the one talking about marriage, and two Jet actually sounding pretty serious.

"Your dad didn't tell you yet?" Jet asked. Not only was Katara confused but he was confused as well.

"Tell me what?" she asked back, almost insanely.

"Hmm, never mind." and with that, Jet just walked away deeply in thought. _Hmm, so if her dad didn't say anything yet, then...I can work with this._

Katara, being incredibly confused and a bit scared, just put the this thought into the back of her mind and deal with it later. She could always ask her dad about it at home anyway. Katara skipped back to her lunch table to rejoin with Toph and Aang. But seeing as they were somehow not there, she decided to head over to her class early to start on her history homework. As she was walking down the hallway to her class by herself, something caught her eye. She walked over to the bulletin board and saw a small flier that read:

**NEED A JOB? WELL HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO WORK **

**AT THE ROYAL PALACE! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, **

**PLEASE CONTACT US AT (312) 479-1185. **

**WE'LL SEE YOU THERE!**

Katara reread it a few times and decided to give it a go. She quickly jotted down the number in her notebook and kept on walking toward her class. As she kept on walking, she didn't notice that Zuko was walking down the hallway as well but the other direction. Or the fact that he was reading a book so he didn't notice her walking down either. They both kept on walking without noticing each other until a sudden earthquake hit the school.

Everything was shaking and so were the students in the school. Katara kept rocking back and forth until her weight betrayed her and she fell and was about to hit the floor. Again. But instead of falling to the ground again, she was stopped by a pair of arms. She looked up to see who had technically saved her and saw it was some new kid. A new kid whom she had never seen before. One thing she definitely took note of though was the rather large scar spread across his face.

He looked to see her too then gasped as he saw it was Katara. But their weight together was leaning back and they both fell with Katara landing on top of him. They both blushed furiously but Zuko was able to stop the blushing from _his _face thankfully to all those meditating lessons he took. However, Katara wasn't able to stop herself and when Zuko spotted the red color spread across her face, he smirked arrogantly. Unfortunately, out of all the times the earthquake could've stopped, it ended right as Zuko was smirking. The students who were sent back to their classes after the earthquake stopped quietly entered the hallway. But when they saw Katara on top of Zuko, they stopped immediately and started whooping for the two. Katara and Zuko blushed again then quickly stood up to stop all the cheering and whooping. Even though they tried to stop all the rumors that now started to spread, they had no idea that all their recent incidents bumping into each other would all explode in front of their faces. And for Katara, who had no idea who this new kid was, was really starting to get annoyed.

What they also didn't know was that Jet was secretly watching this from behind a corner and that he was cooking up a plan along with his new friend, Mai. Otherwise known as the goth kid and the only student in the school who able to break up any type of relationships. Especially ones having to do with the royal family. Zuko and Katara was now in for a lot, even though she just met him.

To be continued...

* * *

**Wow, longer than I expected. But hey, the more the merrier. If you read carefully, somewhere around the second to last and last paragraph, there are a lot of grammatical stuff you have to look at because they're all saying that Katara doesn't remember him. If you don't get what I'm trying to say, then, oh well. **

**R'n'R**

**-zkjanie**


	9. The Memory Returns

**Disclaimer: I own nothing...**

* * *

Palace Couple

After an embarrassing and humiliating day, Katara was extremely relieved to finally be home and relax. She entered the house, left her backpack in a corner, and threw herself onto the couch. Just as she was beginning to relax, Hakoda came into the living room where Katara was with a sad face. Obviously he had some news for her.

"What's up dad?" Katara asked.

"Um, honey, do you know what an arranged marriage is?" Hakoda asked back nervously.

"Oh, yeah! About that, today, Jet said something to me about a marriage or something. What's that about?"

"That's what I want to talk to you about. I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll just say it," Hakoda said hesitantly. "Your great-great-great-great-great grandfather made a promise for an arranged marriage for _you_."

"W-what?"

"Basically, you're getting married to Crown Prince Zuko." Hakoda explained.

"You mean that guy I ran into today?" Katara asked confusingly.

"Oh, good, you met him already. That'll save me from explaining who he is. But he's going to become your husband-to-be, and you're going to be living with him after the wedding." Hakoda finished. Katara started panicking a bit, then settled herself. Right then, the small information that she had forgotten and lost because of that unfortunate accident suddenly hit her head. She thought to herself for a second whether she should do what's best for her family, or what she wants to do. She thought and thought and came down to one final decision.

"Well? What do you say Katara?" Hakoda asked worriedly. But right as Katara was about to answer, Sokka came barging in with a rather large piece of chicken in his hand, just ruining the moment.

"Hey peoples! What's up?" Sokka said trying to sound cool. Sokka took a bite out of his chicken when he noticed that Katara and his dad both were glaring at him accusingly.

"What?"

"I was just about to make the decision, but you just had to come in, stupid." Katara said. "Uh, anyway, um, I thought about it, and I think the right choice would be to go with the promise. No matter how much I don't want to." Katara replied but muttered the last part.

"(sighs) I'm proud of you Katara." Hakoda said. "And, since you made the smart decision, I'll buy you that water book you always wanted."

"Yeah! We get to buy more meat! Awesome!" Sokka cheered. He jumped up and down around the room excitedly, but because he was keep jumping, he accidentally dropped his chicken on the carpet, therefore, getting it dirty. "Oh no!! Chicken! What have I done to you?!" Sokka quickly dropped to the floor and started brushing his little obsession. Hakoda and Katara just stared at him.

* * *

The next day, Katara was getting ready to go to the Palace. Even though she just made her choice last night, somehow, the Royal Family found out. They had arranged a limo to go over and escort her over to the Palace, just in case.

Katara kept wondering if she made the right choice, after all she did make a choice that'll effect her life in just a few minutes. But before she even knew it, she already arrived at the front of the Palace. She entered the Royal Palace for the first time with a grand double-door entrance. She looked around and was completely amazed at how cool and beautiful the inside, as well as the outside, of the palace was. There were trees, flowers, even a fountain outside of the palace. And the inside was just breathtaking. There were paintings, vases, sculptures, everything! It was just like being at a fancy art museum. Then again, itwas the _Royal_ Palace. As she was wandering around, a suspicious servant came up to her.

"Excuse me, madam, who are you?" the servant asked.

"Oh, um, I-I was supposed to meet the Queen about a marriage thing." she replied. _Wow, I'm so not going to fit in around here._

"Oh,yes, right this way, madam." the servant directed Katara to the meeting room where he said the Queen would come out shortly. Katara took a seat and patiently waited for the Queen to arrive. While she was, she looked around, still amazed at all the stuff she saw.

"_Queen Ursa is arriving..._" yelled another servant's voice. Katara quickly stood up and straightened herself. Her royal majesty entered the meeting room and took a seat opposite of Katara, signaling her to sit down too.

"So, first thing I would like to say is, are you feeling any better?" Queen Ursa asked with concern.

"Uh,yes your majesty. I'm feeling much better now that my memory returned." Katara replied. _Yeah the memory I never wanted back. _

"Well, that's good. Next thing to discuss. The marriage. Are you okay about all this, do you have any questions or anything?" Queen Ursa again asked.

"Um, actually yes. I was just wondering. Since it is the Royal Palace, is there going to be another way for a wedding? You know, is it going to be the classic type of wedding and all that?"

"Well, actually, we do have our own way, it's pretty different, but you'll learn the process of it eventually."

"Okay, I guess."

"This is great, you and Prince Zuko both agreed to the wedding!" Queen Ursa squealed, unexpectedly.

"Wait, I'm sorry, did you say that Prince Zuko actually agreed to it too?" _Oh, great, and I was hoping he would say no to this!_

"Well, yes, what'd you think?"

"Never mind, um, on with the meeting!" Katara yelled, accidentally knocking over her chair as she stood up. She and Her majesty continued with the meeting for a few hours with His majesty and the Crown Prince as well. Everything was planned, except Katara _and_ Zuko's mind on how it'll be like after they actually get married. But they both thought optimistically. Well, not really for Zuko. He always was a bit of a pessimist.

But anyway, the wedding for the Crown Prince Zuko and the Crown Princess-to-be Katara was set for next week.

To be continued...

* * *

**Wow, I can't believe I wrote this. But it's probably because I was listening to my new Princess Hours soundtrack (OST)!!! Sorry for bragging, I'm just really happy! Okay, I'll stop now. R'n'R!!**

**-zkjanie**


	10. The Tour and BreakUp

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

* * *

Palace Couple

The wedding for the Crown Prince Zuko and the Crown Princess-to-be Katara was set for next week. And the world already knew thanks to the nosy reporters snooping around the palace. But, while the biggest wedding of the year was being planned, Zuko and Katara both had to learn the proper process since the palace wedding was completely different. And so, the next day, they both arrived at the school studio in the palace, where they would learn the way.

"Okay, Katara, are you ready?" Hakoda and Sokka asked worriedly.

"Of course, I mean it'll be just like school. You go there, you learn, then come home. Right?" Katara replied trying to sound confident, but it didn't really help. But no matter, Katara readily walked out the door where dozens and dozens of reporters and photographers busily took pictures and asked questions. She made her way through the tough crowd and into the limo which would take her to the palace again. Still, the photographers and reporters followed the moving vehicle. Some gave up and just headed back to interview Katara's family, but some were determined enough to even follow her all the way to the palace. One snoopy reporter, however, was someone that Mai hired to dig up clues to break up the new "couple" after they got married. Katara headed into the school studio, and met the teacher, who apparently was someone named Mr. Iroh.

"Hello Miss Katara, I am Mr. Iroh, you're teacher for today." Mr. Iroh said welcomely. He held out his hand and Katara shook it with a warm smile. Out of nowhere, Zuko appeared with another servant who was carrying a stack of books.

"Hello, Mr. Iroh. Hey, Katara." Zuko said sounding bored. He walked over to where Katara was sitting and took a seat himself.

"Okay, good, now that you two are here, let's begin. Now, when you both enter with his and her majesty, along with Miss Katara's father..." Mr. Iroh continued. Katara busily took notes, so that on the day of the actual wedding, she wouldn't mess up and fall on her face in public. But Zuko just sat there pretending to be listening. After Mr. Iroh finished each segment, the servant brought in another stack of books. Each book had all the information about one thing that Iroh talked about. But they weren't really of much use. Three hours had went by while Zuko and Katara were "learning" and when the clock finally hit 4:00, Katara was on her way home with a head full of knowledge on just how to go through a simple wedding.

She entered her living room and threw herself onto the couch once more, again totally beat from that day. Just as she was able to go and get some "brain food" the phone rang. She went to go and pick it up, but she saw the caller ID and groaned.

"What do you want Jet?" Katara rolled her eyes.

"Katara. Katara! Have you thought about what I said? Did you reject them?" Jet asked almost frantically.

"Ugh, no. I did what was best for my family. You would've done that too if you were in the same situation." Katara replied calmly.

"Yeah but, you could've been with me, remember?" Jet said.

"Look, if you're going to keep acting like such a baby and jerk, I don't know what I'm going to do with you. Seriously, Jet, you've been acting weirder lately."

"No I haven't, and besides, I have a little offer. Do you have time tomorrow? Afterschool? Maybe you can come over to the treehouse tomorrow, it'll be em--" Katara cut him off realizing what he meant, and right when he said it, she decided it would be best if they weren't seeing each other anymore.

"You know what, Jet? I've had just about enough of your creepy talk. You've changed, so now I have something to say, I think we should break up." Katara told him.

"W-what? Are you kidding me? Why do you suddenly want to break up?" Jet asked almost panicking.

"Don't take it too personally. I mean, I'm getting married next week!"

"B-but..." Jet pleaded. But he thought about it, and realized she was right. He also thought about it some more, and also decided to give up on the break-them-up-with-the-help-of-Mai- plan too, since there really wasn't any use for that now. "Okay, but we are still friends, right?"

"Sure, we're friends. But I kind of have to go and do some studying and all. Bye" Katara finished her sentence and hung up the phone and ran to her room.

"Bye" Jet whispered sadly even though she had already hung up.

* * *

The following day, Katara was supposed to go back to the palace for a tour. She was going to need the tour if she was going to live there in a few weeks. First, Mr. Iroh introduced her to the main living room, where her majesty usually was. The inside was decorated with red and gold walls, with black molds in the corners, making the room have that royalty feeling. No wonder her majesty stayed in that room a lot. 

Next, she went to visit the kitchen, where all the delicious food were made. _Wow, this place looks almost nothing like a kitchen, well, not like the one at home though. Hehe, I'll probably get used to this kitchen._ Just as she was leaving to visit another room, the kitchen staff entered the room. Mr. Iroh introduced all the staff to Katara. They were pretty nice people.

Then, she visited the dining room. Katara finally decided that the dining room would be her favorite room, and boy was she right. The dining room was highly decorated, even more than the main living room. Over the table, there was a maroon colored tablecloth with little patterns of a fire sign. Apparently the royal family liked the subject of fire. Totally opposite to her. When it came to elements, she was just like a water sign. But anyway, in the middle of the table, the centerpiece was a single candle stand. Around the stand was a weaved stem of a rose, all leading up to the candle. It was breathtaking.

Lastly, she went to visit her future bedroom. Unlike most houses, the couples' rooms were separated. They were forbidden to sleep in the same room unless they were the King and Queen, or if his and her majesty had arranged a room for them. But that was unlikely. After her three hour tour of the palace and the people who worked there, she was finally allowed to go home. _Whoo! Boy, this was some busy week for me!_ Even though, this was already a pretty busy week for her, next week was going to be even busier. Especially because of the wedding!

To be continued...

* * *

Whoo! The wedding will probably be in the next chapter. Also, this chapter was pretty important, because she's going to be living in the palace next week. So she'll have to get used to where all the rooms are. Wow, I haven't even written the next chapter yet! 

-zkjanie


	11. The Wedding

**Disclaimer: I own nothing...**

* * *

Palace Couple

A week had passed, and it was finally the day of the wedding. They day Zuko and Katara both feared. It was so obvious that they both didn't want to get married, but they had to, without turning back on their decision.

Everyone from Hakoda and Sokka all the way to complete strangers and fang girls of Zuko were at the wedding. Katara was nervously getting ready for the wedding that would change her life. Not only that, her wedding dress was certainly not what she had in mind. And, instead of her original loopies, her hair was now up into a bun at the top of her head along with two pigtails and the rest of her brunette hair flowing back. Her bangs? It was more like her majesty's hair now. Separated right down the middle, then pulled back around her head leading to her bun, covering her ears. Now back to her wedding dress, it was a light maroon color. It was covered in little beads that flowed down to the bottom of the dress. The straps were about two fingers thick, but instead of going down to the back of her dress, it went around her neck. It was actually really pretty on her, but she would've gone with a light baby blue color instead. Zuko's outfit was a traditional style tux. It was, of course, black, but along with it, it had red outlines on the sleeves and the neck line.

And the wedding began! Katara headed out of her getting ready room and headed to the hall where she would meet Zuko, where they would get on the float together. Zuko and Katara were seated on the float in the welcoming parade, which would lead them straight to the palace. Zuko was pretty calm about all the fans throwing themselves at him, and the screaming, yelling and waving; which was actually pretty unusual for his fiery temper. But Katara was definitely loving all the attention. She waved at all of the people in the enormous crowd. She smiled, she laughed, waved, and even blew kisses to some people. Then, to her right, she spotted Toph and Aang waving at her. Katara was really happy, even though she really shouldn't have been, and she waved back at her friends. But pretty soon, all the waving and blowing kisses came to an end as they made their way into the Royal Palace. Zuko and Katara, side by side, walked down the long aisle together. When they got to where the priest was standing at the platform, they separated and got to their own sides of the platform. In Katara's side, her Gran Gran Kana, her father Hakoda, her brother Sokka, and one of the ring bearers were standing and looking at her almost about to cry.

In Zuko's side of the platform, Ozai, his father and the King, Ursa, his mother and the Queen, and the ring bearer of that side were looking at him with honor. Well, except for his father. But then again, his father never showed anyone any kind of emotion.

"We gather here today in the Royal Palace to unite there two people in holy matrimony." the priest started.

_Well, looks like my life just ended._ Katara and Zuko both thought the same thing at the same time and took a large breath.

"Now, will the bride walk over to the groom's side of the Grand Platform and will the groom walk over to the bride's side of the Grand Platform?" the priest continued. First, Katara walked over to Zuko's side as he did the same, passing by each other. Zuko's hand accidentally brushed against hers, causing them to both look up. When Katara and Zuko had both reached their new sides, the priest continued speeching.

"Will the ring bearer of each sides put the ring on the groom and bride?" In each sides, the ring bearer stood ready to deliver the ring. In Katara's new side, the ring bearer walked over to her and put the finger through the ring. In Zuko's new side, the ring bearer there walked up to him and put the ring in his finger. Or tried to. Unfortunately, Zuko's finger was just a bit too big, so the little ring bearer had to shove his finger through. Now, Zuko wasn't able to take the ring off.

"Good. Now come back here please." the priest asked. Zuko and Katara slowly walked back to their original sides, now facing the priest.

"Katara of the Water Tribe, do you take Zuko as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to cherish and to whatever, as long as you both shall live?"

"(sighs) I guess" Katara replied regrettingly.

"Zuko of the Fire Nation, do you take Katara as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to cherish and to whatever, as long as you both shall live?" Zuko just stood there sternly, making everyone think that he was going to say no.

"I do."

"You are now husband and wife, congratulations." the priest said happily. And that was that. The wedding had ended. Zuko and Katara thought the embarrassment had ended when they returned inside the of the palace walls. Until they found out where they would be staying that week.

"Whoo! We got away from them alright!" Katara said with a hint of relief in her voice.

"Huh? Oh yeah."

"Since when are you this calm and...quiet?"

"That's none of your business, peasant!"

"Peasant? A little old school aren't we?" Katara smirked. Just as he was about to snap something nasty back at her, he noticed Mr. Iroh standing in the doorway patiently.

"What is it uncle Iroh?" Zuko asked. Even though Mr. Iroh was just an assistant, he was also extremely close to the royal Family, especially Zuko. Zuko actually started calling him Uncle ever since he was just a little boy.

"Um, you and your new wife actually won't be staying in the palace this week."

"W-what? What are you taking about Mr. Iroh?" Katara asked.

"Yes, it's funny really, I forgot to mention this to you two last week." Iroh said.

"Then where are we going to stay?!" Zuko exploded.

"Well, the official rules for a palace style wedding includes that the week of the wedding, the bride and groom must stay at the bride's home instead of the palace." Iroh finished talking and looked up just to see Zuko and Katara's jaws on the floor. It was going to one interesting week. Mostly because of the way they were always bickering was going to give that week a bit something for everyone else to talk about.

To be continued...

* * *

**Well, um, for the part when the priest was saying "the cherish and to whatever" I kinda forgot what the guy was supposed to say after the cherish part.**

**Also, when I was describing Katara's hair, I meant her hair to look like how it would in Season 3. In case you didn't get it.**

**-zkjanie**


	12. The House part 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

-SQUEE-

* * *

Palace Couple

"Are you sure there aren't any crazy fan girls at your house?" If there was one thing the mighty Prince Zuko was afraid of, it was his screaming fans. Although, he did a pretty good job of hiding that fear back at the parade.

Zuko and Katara were now in the limo which would take them to Katara's house. Outside the limo, a large crowd of reporters were swarming around, making the limo a bit hard to get by.

"Ugh, trust me, I've lived here for 17 years, and there isn't any fan girls." Katara said.

"Okay, good." Zuko was relieved. He was really different from when he was by himself and when he was in public.

"Not much anyway" Katara muttered.

"(scoff) Thanks." Zuko sarcastically replied.

"It doesn't matter anyway, we're here." Katara said, getting ready to step out. It looks like Katara had already gotten used to the royal life. But that's only because she hasn't lived her life at the palace yet.

"We have arrived, your highness." the driver opened the door and led Zuko and Katara through the swarm of reporters hovering over them. The Crown Prince and the new Crown Princess walked together toward the house. All of a sudden, the door flung open and Toph, Sokka, and Hakoda ran out attacking her with a giant bear hug!

"Ahhh!! Katara! You're back! We missed you so much! You don't even know!" Sokka exaggerated.

"Um, I just saw you two hours ago. At the wedding, remember?"

"Oh, well! I missed y--!"

"So? How's it to be married, Sugar Queen? Or should I say Sugar _Princess_?" Toph yelled at her face in happiness.

"Okay! You guys! Can you people stop yelling at my face?!" Katara yelled at everyone."And, you nosy reporters! Get out of here! Shoo! There's nothing to see!" And with theat, all the reporters left. Well almost all of them.

"Oh, w-welcome to our home, your royal highness." Hakoda welcomed to Zuko. He leaded them into the house. Zuko, Katara, Sokka, and Toph entered the house.

"This certainly isn't anything like the palace." Zuko said looking around

"Thank you!" Katara said happily.

"It's way smaller!" Zuko finished.

"Whatever."

"um, okay, it's time for dinner. Toph, would you like to join?" Hakoda walked into the kitchen to prepare the dinner.

"Uh, sure." Toph said. "There's nothing like free food!"

"You may take a seat, your highness, anywhere you like." Hakoda yelled across the room. Katara walked over to the dining table and took a seat herself. Then Zuko walked over too and stood right in front of Katara.

"What?" Katara said, sounding annoyed.

"I want to sit thhere." Zuko said calmly.

"Well, too bad for you. Get your own seat somewhere else."

"Well, I want to sit there."

"No! This is my seat!" Katara started chewing her stewed sea prunes.

"Katara! Let his royal highness sit there!" Hakoda ordered. So Zuko now sat at Katara's old seat, and she had to sit at the creaky, old chair; seeing as all the other chairs were already taken.Everyone ate their stewed sea prunes and gathered in the living room for dessert. Sokka came into the living room with a nice, big plate of fruits and everyone dove in.

"So, um, you know your highness, we do have an extra large room, if you guys would rather stay there?" Hakoda sunk his teeth into an apple.

"Uh, no thank you, it's okay, really." Zuko said reassuringly. "Katara and I will share her room, it's no problem." he said again trying to be as sweet as his fire temper would let him. Right as soon as he finished that dangerous sentence, every single person, besides him, dropped their jaws and their eyeballs popped out. Especailly Katara.

"w-wh-wha-what?!" Katara shrieked.

"Yes, now let's go to bed." Zuko put an arm around her shoulder and waled her to her room.

_Go to bed?! _Hakoda, Sokka, and even Toph all thought at the same time.

* * *

In Katara's room...

* * *

"So, you call this a room? I've slept in sleeping bags as big as this room." Zuko said, still having his arm around her.

"Okay, you know what? You got us into this me-- Will you get your arm off me?!" Katara quickly swatted his arm off her shoulder. "You sleep on the floor."

"What? No, I've never slept on anything besides abed or sleeping bag before, so you're going to sleep on the floor."

"Whatever, I'm going to sleep, you do whatever you're going to do."

"Okay, why not, we'll sleep together then!" zuko climbed onto the bed and slowly closed his eyes.

"Huh? All right. Fine! Be that way!" Katara yelled back and closed her eyes too. Once Zuko heard soft snoring, he kicked her off the bed and quickly closed his eyes to make her think that nothing happened.

THUMP!

Katara landed on the floor after being kicked.

"Hey! What gives?!" Katara screamed in his ear. But she didn't get an answer since Zuko was, apparently, asleep.

"Should we? No we shouldn't. I mean they're already sleeping..." Katara overheard Sokka and her dad whispering outside and she got a brilliant idea, and she climbed into bed.

Pretty soon, Sokka entered the room with a plate of "midnight snacks." He looked up to see it the two were really sleeping, then he screamed his head off and fainted. Zuko heard Sokka's girlish scream and woke up. Then, almost immediately, he realized why Sokka had screamed.

To be continued...

* * *

Wow, one of my favorite parts is up next!!

-zkjanie


	13. The House part 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

**A/N:** I'm sorry if the characteristics are a bit off.

* * *

Palace Couple

_Then, almost immediately, he realized why Sokka had screamed._

He looked around to see the awkward position he was in, and he almost screamed too. Almost. Somehow, he ended up on top of Katara. Literally. He carefully woke her up.

"Hmm?" Katara started to wake up. (-cough-her plan-cough-) and shrieked the highest possible right into Zuko's ear. It was so loud that Zuko now finally screamed and fell off the bed and onto the collapsed Sokka. Hakoda quickly ran in with a fire extinguisher to see what happened, but just rolled his eyes when his saw what really happened.

"Are you sure don't want to move into the other room instead?" Hakoda asked again.

"No, sir, it's okay."

"Okay, if you say so." Hakoda grabbed Sokka's feet and dragged him out of the room. His eyes lingered at the two for an extra second and closed the door behind him.

_Oh shoot! How did I end up on top of her like that?_ "Um, I-I'll sleep on the floor tonight." Zuko stuttered. He got some blankets out of the closet and spread them across the floor next to the bed, and threw the pillow on top.

"Goodnight." Zuko muttered already finding Katara asleep. He just crawled into the blankets on the floor and tried to fall asleep. But no matter how hard he tried to sleep, he couldn't help but feel some kind of insomnia. He moved around on his "bed" trying to make it more comfortable. He moved around for about an hour, until he decided to just read a book or something. He sat up straight and looked around in her side table for a book. He didn't find a book , but he did come across something called _Katara's Diary_. Then an idea light bulbed into his head and he opened up her diary.

_Dear Diary, _

_You'll never guess what happened today! Today, I accidentally spilled dirty water all over that obnoxious Prince of Ego-Maniacs' shoes today! But you know what? I think he deserved it! So "HA!' to him! Oh! And then ,after school, he broke up with his girlfriend! And I'm the only one who heard them! Then I choked a dog. You know, the usual. But then, I was on my way home, but then he yelled at me for overhearing! How rude!_

_Katara_

Zuko just read that entry before finally going to bed. He placed the diary back in the drawer and fell asleep. But before he knew it, it was already morning!" Poor Zuko barely got any sleep!

* * *

At breakfast...

Hakoda and Sokka were already in the kitchen preparing their home famous...nuts! It was always Sokka's favorites. Then, Zuko came into the kitchen with a cranky attitude, obviously from the lack of sleep.

"Oh! Uh, good morning, You highness!" Hakoda said. When Katara appeared too.

"Good morning peoples!" Katara said happily. "Hey dad, what's for breakfast?"

"Our home-famous nuts!" Sokka said. Katara just groaned at the thought of eating nuts for breakfast _again_.

"Hey, dad? Can we have some blubbered seal jerky instead?" Katara asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, okay. You can go and watch TV" Hakoda replied. Katara walked out of the busy kitchen and into the living room, leaving Zuko behind.

"C'mon, Zuko!" Katara yelled across the hall. Zuko walked out of the kitchen and followed Katara.

"What do you want to watch?" Katara sat on the couch and turned on the TV.

"I don't care! You choose!" Zuko snapped at her, obviously because of his crankiness. Katara just scoffed when the doorbell rang.

"Can you get that, Katara?!" Hakoda yelled from the kitchen. Katara opened the door to find Toph and Aang there.

"What's up?" Toph asked. Then she and Aang barged right into the house. Somehow, they got pass all the bodyguards guarding the house.

"Nothin' much. You?"

"Look at the news! You wedding was huge!' Katara quickly picked up the remote and and switched the channel.

"--Now the Crown Prince is walking across the platform, they now got their rings and--" the anchorwoman said. Zuko, not wanting to hear about the wedding, walked outside to the balcony. Katara noticed him being a bit quieter than usual and followed him.

"Hey Zuko. You okay?" Katara asked. Zuko just looked up and nodded his head.

"A-are you sure? You've been pretty quiet." Katara put her palm on his forehead to check his temperature. Then Aang and Toph popped out of nowhere and snapped a picture of them with a camera. Zuko and Katara both growled at them, then blushed realizing how close they were.

"Hey guys! It's breakfast time!" Sokka said. He brought out the blubbered seal jerky and, again, everyone dove right in. Everyone except Zuko. He just sat there quietly chewing.

Pretty soon, after breakfast, Hakoda went to work, Sokka went out, and Toph and Aang headed to the park, leaving Katara and Zuko home alone together. But all they did, however, was just sit on the couch all day long. That is, until Katara's favorite TV show went on. Katara stood on the seat and jumped up and down over and over. Her favorite show was a romantic comedy about the love between a stuck-up rich guy and an optimistic yet poor girl. It actually kind of portrayed Zuko and Katara, but they were too oblivious to notice. Katara just kept on jumping and jumping like a crazy fan girl, until she accidentally fell on Zuko again! Their faces were just inches apart, and the gap between them was getting smaller and smaller. Unfortunately, right as they were about to kiss, Zuko just had to realize what was going on, and shoved Katara away, blushing.

* * *

The week went by fairly quickly with the same things happening again and again. Zuko would suggest to share her room, she gets kicked off the bed. He ends up on top of her, Sokka faints like a girl, they wake up, Zuko and Katara get close in a picture, and finally they would be extremely close to kissing but then stopped by Zuko's realization. Same old, same old.

But now it was finally time to live their lives together in the Royal Palace.

To be continued...

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Whoo! You know, I really liked this chapter, but then again, I like everything. XD

-zkjanie


	14. The Palace

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

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Palace Couple

_But now, it was finally time to live their lives together in the Royal Palace..._

Katara said one last good-bye to her family before getting in the limo. She walked down the lane and slided into the car seat, followed by Zuko.

They passed several buildings, and Katara just sat there staring out her window nervously. Zuko noticed this and smirked. He slid over, tenderly put an arm around her shoulder, giving Katara shivers run up and down her back.

"Don't worry, you'll fit in perfectly." Zuko said sarcastically. But Katara wasn't moved at all by his little comment. She just scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Stop being sarcastic. I'm just nervous." she replied. Zuko shrugged and slid back to his seat. They drove for another few minutes until they came to a complete stop. The driver parked the limo in front of palace entrance, where a large group of servants were standing waiting for them. Then, as soon as the driver parked, he walked around the car to open the car door.

"We have arrived, your highnesses." Katara walked out and entered the Royal Palace with Zuko again. Immediately, Mr Iroh ran out to greet them and escort them to their new separate rooms. Once they got there, Katara looked around and saw that her new room was right across the hall from Zuko's! And, not only that, the two doors were French doors! So he was able to see everything she did, but she was able to do that too.

"Here are your rooms, your highnesses. In about an hour, his and her majesty has arranged to see you two in the meeting room. Please be there in time." And with that, Mr. Iroh left, leaving Zuko and Katara to their rooms.

Katara dropped her bags on the bed and wandered around her room. It was just the kind of room she had always imagined. It had an ocean theme. The walls were a pacific blue color, with a nice and light seashell pattern. It was very peaceful. She changed her clothes into something more comfortable than her very itchy dress in a corner where Zuko wouldn't be able to see her. When she finished, she decided to take a little stroll around the palace, just to get used to things. She quickly sole a glance at Zuko's room, and saw it _very_ different than hers.

She walked around the palace several times, passing by numerous people. She even ran into Mr. Iroh a few times. Then, she began to feel a little tired and headed to the rose garden. She sat down on a bench and took a deep breath, smelling the roses. Then, all of a sudden, Aang appeared right in front of her!

"(gasp) Aang?!" Katara asked standing up.

"(gasp) is that you, Katara?" Aang said surprised.

"Oh my god, what are you doing h ere?" Katara asked.

"Um, well, my uncle(Gyatso) is good friends with the Queen, what are you doing here?"

"Well, um, I'm...the new Crown Princess." she said nervously.

"Really? Oh, wait, I know that! I guess I forgot." Aang said being goofy. Katara chuckled at his little joke. Then, a voice popped up behind her.

"Uh, you are needed in the meeting room, your highness." the servant behind her said. She looked down at her watch and saw that an hour had already passed.

"Um, I'll see you soon, Aang!" She quickly ran towards the meeting room with the servant chasing after her, complaining about some "NO RUNNING" rule. Aang just smiled cheerfully and kept walking through the garden.

* * *

Katara had made it to meeting room just in time. She quietly took a seat next to Zuko.

"Ah, so, Princess Katara, how do you like it in the palace so far?" the Queen said. Katara thought for a second until she finally replied.

"Um, well, it's certainly...big and clean." Katara said.

"Yes, thank you. We have an excellent cleaning service working here in the palace." the King said. "So, how are things going on between you two?"

Zuko and Katara just stared blankly at each other, racking their heads of what to say.

"um..." they both said.

"No need to answer, it's written all over your face." her majesty chuckled. Zuko and Katara had blank expressions once again. They checked each other's faces to see if they had anything written on them. But they saw nothing.

"You two must like each other, even if it is just an arranged marriage." her majesty sighed.

_Like each other? Not in a million years! _They both thought.

To be continued...

* * *

Um, for the garden scene, Katara and Aang don't really know each other that well, since they just met at the lunch table the other day. It's only Toph so far that knows Aang well.

-zkjanie


	15. The Elevator

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

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Palace Couple

"Okay, well, it was nice talking to you, your majesties." Katara and Zuko nervously rushed out, trying to get away from the awkwardness. When they reached their hall, the one separating their rooms, they actually started talking.

"So, um, do you like your room? I love mine!" Katara started.

"Huh? Oh, um, it's cool." Zuko replied shortly, trying to catch his breath.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go to the garden." Katara left Zuko and headed into the garden, hoping Aang would still be there. She walked down the hallway and roamed around the enormous garden. She walked and walked, smelled a few roses, then gave up on her search. She walked around the palace, trying to find her room, but ended up getting lost. She, once again, walked and walked and came across a bulletin board. On the board, she saw a small poster stating that it was going to be Prince Zuko's birthday next week! _How come I never knew about this._ She reread the poster until Mr. Iroh bumped into her.

"Oh, hello, your highness. I-I'm sorry." Mr. Iroh apologized.

"Oh no, it's okay, it's no biggie. But um, what's this about Zuko's birthday?" Katara pointed at the poster.

"Oh! Didn't Prince Zuko tell you? I'm pretty sure her majesty had told him to. But uh, yes. Princes Zuko's birthday is actually next week and it will be celebrated at the Grand Crescent Island. You are to attend as well." Mr. Iroh explained.

"Oh, okay, cool. Also, I'm kind of lost, so um..." Katara said nervously.

"Oh, yes, just walk down the hallway, and to your left, there will be an elevator. Just press the number 3, and you'll be there, your highness." Mr. Iroh finished.

"Thank you, bye bye!" Katara left and proceeded down the hallway. She turned the corner and walked into the elevator. When the door had opened, inside was Zuko. _Ugh, that's just great._ She thought. She walked in and stood next to him. While she was standing there, she noticed that he was carrying a small book in his hands. She glanced back and forth at the book and his scar. Somehow, his scar had caught her attention._ Ouch, that scar is huge. How did he get it? It must've hurt. _

"Where were you? My mom said to tell you something." Zuko started. He noticed that she keep looking at him and he smirked.

"What are you looking at?"he asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing!" she blushed. They stood there for another few seconds, until they heard some kind of beeping. They elevator shook lightly, then it shook some more until it felt like an earthquake! It shook so hard that Katara and Zuko both were rocking where they were standing. Then, the elevator took an abrupt stop, shaking Katara one last time and she accidentally ended up leaning against Zuko! They both blushed furiously. Zuko looked down and gave her a confused look, and her blush deepened even more. Zuko helped her steady her balance.

"Sorry." Katara muttered. She quickly got off him and they stood there until, thankfully, the door had opened. Katara was the first to leave the elevator. She quickly slid into her room , but was stopped by Zuko.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you! My birthday is next week. We're going to be celebrating it at the--"

"Grand Crescent Island, yeah, I've heard."

"How? Oh well, doesn't matter. You're going to have to go there too. We're going to get there with a first-class airplane. And the King and Queen won't be there, so no need to feel awkward." he continued. But Katara didn't really hear him. She was too busy thinking about what to get him. It's true that she despised him, but she also felt kind of bad about not getting him something. She had the perfect idea on what to get him.

"You get all that?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, got it." she replied and headed into her room, and got ready to make her hand-made present to him.

To be comtinued...

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Sorry, if it's short, I've been having some sort of a writer's block for Palace Couple lately, and I don't know how to continue it. But i'm pretty sure it'll go away soon. So no need to worry.

-zkjanie.


	16. The Plane and Party

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

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Palace Couple

A week had passed and Prince Zuko and Princess Katara were now in the plane and on their way to the Grand Crescent Island.

"Are your seats comfortable, your highnesses?" the stewardess asked.

"Yup!" Katara chirped, and Zuko just nodded.

"Ugh, how can you just nod at this?! It's first-class!" She yelled happily. The stewardess, thinking that she was dismissed, walked away.

"I can nod if I want to, besides, I've been on a first-class plane before. It's not really as exciting as it sounds." Zuko replied with boredom.

"Whatever, I'm going to order so much food!" Katara rang the bell and the stewardess from before appeared.

"Yes, your highness?" the stewardess asked politely.

"Uh, yeah, oh! Can I have a bowl of stewed sea prunes, and a plate of blubbered seal jerky?" Katara said looking at the menu. "And, yeah, that's it for me."

"And for you, your highness?" she directed toward Zuko.

"Oh, uh, um, I'll just have some fire crackers." Zuko said. The stewardess bowed and disappeared behind the curtain. "Why did you order the jerky and prunes again?"

"Well, I want to know how they taste like first-class." she replied ad looked out her small window and into the peaceful ocean. "(gasp) oh my god, look Zuko! Look at the ocean! Isn't it beautiful?" Katara asked shaking Zuko's arm. Zuko tried to escape from Katara;s tight grasp, and succeeded! A few seconds right after that, the stewardess came out to them with two trays. One with Katara's prunes and jerky, and the other with Zuko's crackers.They pigged down their food. Zuko, who finished first, looked over at Katara's leftover plate and kept on staring at it hungrily. Katara saw this and smirked.

"You want it?" Katara held out the plate to Zuko. Zuko just turned his head around as if he didn't want it, but took the plate and scarfed it down too. Pretty soon, the lights on the plane slowly dimmed and a lot of the passengers were falling asleep, as well as Zuko and Katara. But they didn't really sleep well, considering that they moved around during the night. But by the crack of dawn, Katara's head somehow ended up on Zuko's shoulder, and his head ended up on her head. They looked absolutely perfect, that is, until they woke up.

Zuko's eyes slowly opened. When he was fully awake, he realized that Katara's head was lying on his shoulder, and he just smirked. He carefully moved her head so that it wasn't on him and instead against the window. He walked over to the bathroom to wash and his face, just as Katara was starting to wake up. When he came back, Katara was wide awake and was already eating a big plate of breakfast. _God, can she eat!_

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now landing. Please buckle in your seat belts." someone announced over the intercom. Zuko hurried over to his seat and and buckled in his sea, just as one of the stewardesses were picking up Katara's now empty breakfast plate. The plane started to shake just a little bit, but it finally landed. Zuko and Katara both exited the airport and met up with Mr. Iroh, who was somehow already there. The three people slid into the limo and headed toward the hotel, and the birthday celebration was to be held tomorrow.

The next night, it was finally Zuko's birthday party! Everyone that was invited all headed into the reserved party hall of the beautiful island. Everyone was dressed in fancy clothes and light classical music was playing. All of Zuko's "friends" gathered in a corner to chat and hang out. That's when Katara came over to them.

"Hey Zuko! Happy Birthday!" Katara said. But for some reason, she got strange looks from Zuko's friends. All of a sudden, someone appeared in the doorway. Everyone turned their heads to see who it was, and as it turned out, it was Jin, the ex-girlfriend.

"Hey Jin!What's up!" all of Zuko's friends greeted. They all headed to her and starting chatting. Including Zuko. Now Katara was left all alone. Somehow, she felt as if she didn't belong here. But behind her, Aang appeared.

"Hey, Katara!" Aang said cheerfully.

"Oh, hey, Aang." Katara said.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I don't know, I guess I feel a kind of like an outsider. That's all." Katara said.

"Hey, well, at least I'm here, right?"

"Yeah, I just wish Toph was here too, she can turn almost anything fun."

"Well, she's here. Somehow, she got past all the bodyguards and she's over there, near the back pool." Aang pointed toward the direction of the back pool. Katara's face suddenly lit up and she grabbed Aang and headed down to the pool. When she got there, she saw Toph just splashing around.

"Hey Toph!" Katara hurriedly ran over to her and gave her a huge hug. Pretty soon, Aang was joined in , and they all splashed around in the pool and got each other wet. All of a sudden, someone yelled from the other side of the building that Zuko was now going to open his presents. Katara quickly grabbed Toph and Aang and headed to the other side. When they all got their, Zuko had already started opening his presents. The present he was now opening was from Jin, the ex-girlfriend. He carefully tore away the wrapping paper and revealed an MP3 player. The crowd behind them, Zuko's friends, all cheered. Then, Katara quickly ran up to Zuko with her gift.

"Hey, Zuko! Happy birthday! Here, open my gift!" Katara said handing him her present. He opened it carefully, as well, and when he opened he box, he found his old shoes that she had spilled water on the first time they met. But instead, it was now decorated with little fire signs and all that. And, instead of Zuko's friends cheering again, they just laughed at poor Katara, saying that her gift to him was pathetic. She just stood there looking down and feeling bad that she had given him a lousy gift, even though she worked really hard on it. Zuko saw her looking down, and decided to do something he has never done for anyone but himself before.

To be continued...

* * *

Wow, can you believe this was actually longer than I had originally planned?

By the way, remember that this story is still based on Princess Hours. Also, I couldn't think of what I should have Jin and Katara get him, so I just went with the MP3 player and the shoes, like the drama.

And, since this is like, just the beginning of the story and all, I think this fanfic is going to be really long, as in MANY chapters.

-zkjanie


	17. The Matchmaking Realization

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

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Palace Couple

_Zuko saw her looking down, and decided to do something he has never done for anyone but himself before. _Zuko abruptly stood up and pointed at his friends.

"Okay, you know what guys? I know her present was kind of...unexpected, but at least she got me something for my birthday. And besides, you guys shouldn't make fun of her, she IS my wife." Zuko stood up for Katara. Zuko's friends all looked at him surprisingly. Especailly Katara and Jin. Zuko looked around to see almost everybody looking at him, and thought it was the perfet time. Zuko grabbed Katara's hand and walked her outside.

"W-What's going on? Why'd you bring me out here?"Katara asked. But Zuko kept walking until the two were out of earshot of the rest of the people at the party. "Well? What's going on?"

"Uh-um,"Zuko stuttered. "Thanks for the shoes, they're great, by the way."

"Oh no problem! It is your birthday, after all. And uh, thanks for standing up for me. I was starting to feel a little pathetic back there."

"Don't mention it, ever." Zuko said. Together, they just stood there awkwardly. Then, he just looked at her, and just now noticed how blue Katara's eyes were. Zuko's golden eyes and Katara ocean blue eyes actually met for the first time and they gazed in each others. Slowly, their faces inched closer, and their eyes were slowly starting to close. Just as their lips were about to tough, unfortunately Zuko realized what he was doing right as Mr. Iroh came charging at them. Zuko and Katara turned their hads towards the jolly assistant. Mr. Iroh stopped in his tracks as he saw the Crown Prince and Princess's postition. He cautiously walked up to the couple and delivered the news.

"Uh, you highnesses, his and her majesty wishes you two to return back to the palace immediately."

"What?! Why so sudden? We just got here." Zuko replied.

"Uh, they said they missed you two." Mr. Iroh, not wanting to see their face expressions, quickly headed back to pack their stuff.

"(sigh) Let's go." Katara said. Zuko nodded and followed her. But from behind a corner, Jin had seen everything with envy in her eyes.

With everyone at the party sent home early, Zuko, Katara, and Mr.Iroh rushed their way through the airport and into the plane just in time. They were so tired from rushing everywhere so quickly that they didn't have any strength to order anything to eat, and they pretty much slept throughout the entire flight. Once the plane finally landed, Mr. Iroh, Zuko, and Katara left the plane and entered the limo from the airport and back to the palace. When they finally arrived, Zuko and Katara ran straight to their rooms, no matter what the palace rules said about running, and fell asleep in no time. They were obviously extremely tired from rushing around, the plane rides, and the jet lag. Everyone in the palace just left them alone to sleep peacefully, until the next day.

"It's time for school, your majesty! Please wake up." the maids pleaded. It was already 7:30 AM and the Prince and Princess hadn't even woken up yet. "Oh, please wake up." Then, Mr. Iroh showed up in the doorway of the hall.

"Are the Crown Prince and Princess awake yet?"

"I'm afraid not, sir." one of the maids replied.

"Hmm." Mr. Iroh walked over to the Crown Princess's room first.

"Oh, your highness! It's time for your first day of school as a Mrs.!" Mr. Iroh said in a jolly voice. Right as soon as Katara heard that, she quickly got up and raced to the bathroom. Mr. Iroh just stood there grinning. Then, he walked across the hall and into Zuko's room. There was definitely a mood change between the two bed chambers. "Oh, Prince Zuko! It's time for school, Mr. Katara's Husband!" Mr. Iroh said happily. Immediately, Zuko burst out of bed.

"Alright! Alright! But don't you ever call me that again!"

"Your highness or Mr. Katara's Husband?"

"The Mr. Katara's Husband." Zuko whispered. He walked over to his bathroom as well. Once again, Mr. Iroh stood right there grinning as wide as his face would let him. He was now one happy assistant. Mostly because he realized what his new matchmaking project was going to be.

To be continued...

* * *

Yeah, not much of a cliffhanger. Oh well, but I do have a question for you peoples. Do you think I'm rushing Zuko and Katara's relationship in the story too much? Please tell me.

-zkjanie


	18. The Surpise

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

A/N: Thank you to all that shared their ideas with me. I've decided to use them in the later chapters. Also, I realized that it wasn't writer's block I was having. It was more of a block where I wasn't able to put my ideas down on paper and such. So, anyway, here's the next chapter.

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Palace Couple

The limo once again parked. But now, instead of it stopping in front of the Palace, it now stopped in front of the school. And, instead of a bunch of polite servants waiting for them bowing, an enormous crowd of screaming students were waiting for them. Mostly screaming girls.

The driver walked over to open the door and Katara and Zuko walked out and was guided through the crowd of screaming students to the entrance of the school. Once Zuko and Katara had arrived to their classrooms, the bodyguards and limo left the school. Of course, Zuko and Katara were in separate classes. Katara was in the fine arts class, and Zuko was in the advanced technology class. The students in Katara's class were the down-to-earth, fun loving, and downright normal people. The kids in Zuko's class were the rich, arrogant, and stuck-up kids. They both fit in perfectly with their classes.

When Katara sat down at her desk, she looked around and saw everyone pretty much spacing out and just ignoring her. Normally, since it was the art class, all the people would be chatting and stuff. _Hmm, I wonder if Zuko's class is like this too._

Then, to her right, the door opened to reveal another student who walked in and took a seat next to her. It was Aang!

"Hey Katara!" Aang said cheerfully.

"Hey Aang. Do you know why the class is so quiet today?" Katara asked. Aand just shrugged and opened up a book, waiting for the teacher to show up. She quickly turned around to her other friends, Yue and Suki.

"Hey, you guys. what;s going on? Why is everyone so quiet?" Katara asked again shaking their arms. But You and Suki just ignored her. "And you call yourself my friends." Katara scoffed. Then the teacher, Mrs. Wu, finally arrived.

"All right children, before we start class, let's congratulate Katara again for her wedding!" Mrs. Wu was the only person cheering. "Wow, tough crowd." Mrs. Wu headed out of the quiet classroom to get something and left the students alone. Once again, everything was dead silent.

"the class has something to say to you. Go to the front of the class." Suki whispered from behind Katara.

"o-okay?" Katara nervously walked up to the front and waited patiently for her classmates to speak up. A few seconds passed and it was still quiet. All of a sudden, everyone stood up and cheered and blew out confetti and balloons!

"Congrats!" they all yelled. Thn, Suki and Yue surprised her again with a cake! On the cake, there were little letter that spelled out:

CONGRATULATIONS!

"Aww, thank you guys But the thing is, it's not all that great to be Zuko's wife." Katara exclaimed. All over the room, scattered gasps were delivered. "Well, its true! He's all mean and rude to me." _At times._

"Oh, come on now Katara, you're married now. You even got married before me! You should cherish the moment." Mrs. Wu said jokingly from the doorway. All of a sudden, somehow, her face was pushed into the congratulations cake! She lifted her cake smothered face and turned around to see who dared to do this. And there he was. The culprit. It was...Aang! Everyone in the class all laughed heartily when Katara's surprised face slowly turned into a smirk. She quickly grabbed the cake and smashed it against Aang's face! She even smashed it against Yue and Suki's face too! Everyone just kept on laughing.

As for Zuko's class, everything was all pretty much the same. Except for the little fact that they were all teasing Zuko for standing up for someone with such a low profile as Katara. Yet, somehow, he managed to ignore all the teasing without beating someone up. And the school day ended like that.

The limo was waiting in front of the school when the bell rang. Zuko and Katara were, again, guided by bodyguards through the giant screaming crowd hovering them. Once they returned to the Palace, they went immediately to the meeting room. As it turned out, almost everyday after school, they would go and meet with his and her majesty. Mostly to tell them about their day. Either that or to meet new people from the Palace.

"Greetings your majesties." Zuko and Katara greeted. They entered the meeting room and took a seat.

"Ah, so, how was your day Prince Zuko and Princess Katara?" her majesty asked. Katara was pretty much speechless, so Zuko answered for them.

"It was just like a normal day at school." Zuko replied in monotone.

"Good, good. Now before you two leave to do your daily stuff, we want you to meet someone. Of course, Zuko already knows him. So he'll be introduced to you, Princess Katara." his majesty said. From the door behind them, someone entered. Again, it was Aang.

"Hey, Aang." Katara said. Aand just smiled and took a seat as well.

"Crown Princess Katara, meet Zuko's long distance cousing, Aang!" his and her majesty said. They expected Katara to stand up and welcome him, but their expectation was completely wrong. Katara didn't stand up, she just sat there. She didn't really greet him, her jaw was too busy falling to the floor. _Aang is Zuko's cousing?!_

To be continued...

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Wow, Aang is Zuko's cousing. Big surprise. NOT.

-zkjanie


	19. The Dance part 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

A/N: From this point on, I'm going to try to base the story COMPLETELY on Princess Hours. One, because all my ideas are starting to run out.

A/N 2: There is this person named "DUO MXWELL IS GOD BITCHES" and this person is wasting TONS of writing space by putting up useless, pointless, and retarded stuff. Watch out for this "writer"

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Palace Couple

"Uh, Princess Katara? Are you with us?" her majesty asked.

"..."

"Princess Katara?"

"..." Zuko, tired of her blank and surprised expression, pushed her and she got out of shocked phase. "Oh! Uh-um. It's very nice to meet you Aang." Katara said, even though she had already met him before.

"Well, actually, it is _Avatar_ Aang. You see, all the princess here that aren't the Crown Prince are named with 'Avatar'." his majesty corrected.

"Okay well. Now that you all have met, you are dismissed." his and her majesty left the room as the Prince, the Princess, and the Avatar did the same. Once they got out into the main hall, Zuko left Katara and Aang. _Hmm, I wonder why he's always leaving._ Katara thought, but just shrugged it off when she remember that Aang had lied to her.

"You lied to me!" Katara yelled at Aang.

"U-uh, technically, I didn't." Aang said hesitantly.

"I guess that's true. But how come you didn't tell me?' Katara's voice softened.

"I guess it just slipped my mind."

"Whatever. Let's go meet up with Toph!"

"Okay!" Aang and Katara both ran out of the Palace and to Toph's place without telling Mr. Iroh.

Zuko entered the ostrich horse ranch and met up with his friends, including Jin.

"Hey! Look who it is! It's Zuko! What's up?!" his friends asked unusually happy.

"Uh, hi?" Zuko answered and headed to pick out his horse. He browsed around and picked out his horse. He skillfully got up and rode around in the ranch. He was thinking about the upcoming annual ball of the Palace that was to be held that night. Unfortunately, since his wife was Katara, he would have to take her. But his thoughts were interrupted as Jin showed up behind him riding her own horse.

"Hey Zuko." Jin said calmly.

"Oh, Hi Jin."

"You know, the usual. You?"

"Nothing much."

"Look Zuko, truth is, I have to talk to you."

"Okay." Zuko and Jin both left their horses back at the ranch and sat down at a bench. "So, what was it you needed to talk to me about?"

"Um, I know we're broken up now, but I have no one else to tell this to."

"Okay"

"I'm actually going to this place called Ba Sing Se. They're holding the Performing Arts Recital there."

"Wait, but isn't Ba Sing Se the Earth Kingdom capital? You'll be leaving the country!"

"...yes. But my dream might come true! So I'm willing to go there."

"A-alright. You sure you don't need someone to accompany you?" Zuko said unusually sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Anyway, thanks for listening." Jin left Zuko and walked back to her ostrich-horse. Zuko was also about to fetch his ostrich-horsetoo but decided to just head back to the Palace to get ready for the ball.

By the time he got back, Katara was already there applying the last touches on her blue dress. Zuko saw her and just stared in awe.

"...wow." Zuko whispered quietly. But it wasn't quiet enopugh, for Katara had just barely heard him and turned to his direction. Zuko quickly turned back and headed to his room realizing what he was just doing with a tint of red covering his cheeks.

After a few hours, it was finally time for the dance. Everyone in the Palace was there dressed up in fancy clothes. Aang, however, couldn't make it. He was needed somewhere else. Pretty soon, everyone at the ball was getting ready for the dance portion of the ball. Everyone was with someone. Obviously his and her majesty were together. And now, Prince Zuko and Princess Katara were together. Out of nowhere, some dance music came one.

It was time for the tango!

To be continued...

* * *

Ooh! Its tango time!

-zkjanie


	20. The Dance part 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing...**

**OMG, I'm so sorry I haven't updated as fast as I usually do, it's just that you know, school's starting for everyone, and ALL my friends have been calling me and stuff, and it's been extremely busy. And to add to that, with the registration, the back to school shopping and blah, there's way too much going on. And to top off the perfectly destroyed summer with a nice cherry on top, my TV has made all the other channels besides Disney Channel temporarily off air, including Nick!!! And it's been that way for a week, and if it keeps going on like that until Sept 21, I'm literally going to go over to the cable place and kill them or something. I've already called the cable company numerous times, and yet nothing! But just in case the cable doesn't come back by Sept 21, will anyone be kind enough and help me get rid of my misery by hopefully uploading the episode on youtube or livevideo after it airs, just in case its not on Turbo Nick? **

* * *

_It was time for the tango!_

Several different couples glided to the dance floor and started dancing as the music began.

"Prince Zuko, perhaps you should ask Princess Katara to dance?"his majesty suggested. Seeing as there was no other choice than to follow his daddy's suggestion, he casually strolled over to the princess.

Katara looked up rather surprised, but that slowly disappeared when Zuko just stood there with nothing to do.

"What do you want?" Katara asked. Once again, Zuko did and said nothing. "Look, if you're not going to say anything, can you please move out of my way, I want to see the people dancing."

All of a sudden, Zuko bowed to Katara and held out his hand, silently asking her to dance. Katara was speechless. He was definitely showing some kind of PDA when everyone immediately stopped dancing and stared at the two wondering how Katara would reply.

Katara just sat there for a second or two, then slowly brought her hand up and took his hand. Zuko slowly brought escorted Katara to the dance floor as everyone else was clearing off. They were the center of attention. Literally.

Zuko wrapped his arm around Katara's small waist, as Katara put her arm on Zuko's shoulder. Zuko spun her around and guided her across the dance floor with skill. "Oohs" and "Ahhs" were heard from all over the room when they saw the couple dancing to the tango music.

Katara twirled around in his arms without realizing that she was in _Zuko's_ arms. The tango finally ended with Zuko catching Katara after her twirls and dipping her. The music ended and Katara stood back up, just now realizing that she just danced with him with calming nerves. She wasn't supposed to have calming nerves when she was with Zuko. She was supposed to feel irritated with Zuko, even though she was his wife. She snapped back from her thoughts and into reality when she heard the many claps. She quickly bowed a few times panting from the hectic dancing. Pretty soon, the night had come to an end and the day was over.

The next day...

Jin was busily packing her clothes into her already stuffed suitcase, getting ready to leave for Ba Sing Se.

"Are you ready to go?" her performing arts teacher asked standing at the doorway.

"Yeah, just give a few more minutes. I want to check out something before we leave." Jin quickly replied.

"All right, whatever you say. But only 5 minutes." her teacher left and Jin swiftly turned the TV on to see if there were any news about the Prince. Ever since she broke up with him and ever since he married Katara, Jin was slowly starting to get her feelings for him back. Though it wasn't enough to stop her from leaving.

"--Crown Prince Zuko had suddenly disappeared from the Royal Palace. He was last seen with Crown Princess Katara at the ball last night. We must find him at any cost." the anchorman replied in monotone.

Jin gasped and quickly called Zuko's cell. She dialed the numbers as fast as her little fingers would let her. The phone rang and rang, and yet, no answer.

"You ready to go _now_?" her teacher asked once again appearing at the door.

"Huh?" Oh, yeah, I guess so." _They'll find him_._ I'm sure_. Jin thought as she left the door and into the taxi heading to the airport which would take her to Ba Sing Se.

* * *

"I'm pretty sure they'll find Zuko in time." Katara told Aang. She should've been worried about him, but for some reason, she wasn't worried that much.

"Yeah, I guess." Aang said back.

* * *

Jin looked at the newspaper sitting in her lap as she was flying across the country.

"PRINCE ZUKO IS MISSING" she read. She looked out the window hoping he would be okay.

"We are now landing, please fasten your seat belts." The airplane dove down slowly and landed at the airport. Jin grabbed all her stuff and headed down the stairs. She made her way through the airport and stopped at the exit. She opened the two doors, just to find someone unexpected waiting for her.

To be continued...

* * *

**By the way you guys, this is ZUTARA. The whole part about Jin that I just wrote is all eventually going to lead directly to a Zutara moment that was also crucial in the actual drama. So don't get all mad at me for putting in all this stuff about Jin.**

**Another thing, my miserable depression about the cable thing not working, its slowly starting to rub off, but not completely. I was able to find the confidence to write this chapter, even though I'm still pretty mad, by reading some of Ch3rry1ava's stories. They really helped me, of course with tons of squealing.**

**I'll try to update faster, don't worry!**

**-zkjanie**


	21. The Contest

**Disclaimer: I own nothing...**

**Okay, here's the awaited chapter 23 of Palace Couple! Sorry for not updating and all, but hey, at least I did it.**

* * *

Palace Couple

She opened the two doors, just to find someone unexpected waiting for her.

_W-what? What's he doing here?! _Jin thought as she walked forward him with her suitcases. But as she walked closes to him, she finally noticed the awkward look on his face. The same face that she had on.

"Zuko?!" Jin asked.

"Jin? What are you doing here?" Zuko asked back.

"Me? Wat about you? I'm here because of the performing contest thing, remember?" Jin said.

"Well, I'm here for a peace treaty." Zuko replied bored, but still confuseed.

"What peace treaty?" Jin suddenly asked.

"You know, the peace treaty between Ba Sing Se and the Fire Nation. They finally settled heir differences, and decided to get some peace treaty going."

"That's nice. Anyway, um, I gotta get going, But, uh, nice seeing you again." And with that, Jin quickly grabbed her heavy bags and scurried off over to the nearest taxi and drove off.

Zuko just kind of stared as the taxi went away until Mr. Iroh interrupted him from his daze.

"Uh, Prince Zuko?" Mr. Iroh started reading from the schedule in his hand. "We must get going as well. We have a meeting with the Earth King in an hour."

Zuko followed the bodyguards who led him to his limo. Without any complaints, he entered the main hotel after getting dropped off.

_RING_

Zuko, who's boredom was painfully visible, walked over to the phone, when his own cell phone started to ring as well. He glanced at the caller ID on both phones, and he realized he was stuck.

One phone was her majesty back at the Royal Palace. And the other, Jin. _Might as well answer mom;s call first._ Zuko thought and picked up the hotel phone.

"Hello?" Zuko asked, even though he knew it was his mom.

"Hello, Prince Zuko, are you doing okay? How's Ba Sing Se so far? I here Ba Sing Se has a spectacular view." Ursa suddenly asked.

"Um, yeah, i guess it's all right."

"Good. Good. Did you meet with the Earth King yet?"

"Um, I'm about to in about half an hour."

"All right, well, make you dear old mommy and nation proud by signing the ptreaty." Ursa chuckled and hung up. Zuko soon hung up after.

He now decided to see if Jin had left him some sort of voice message on his cell.

ONE VOICE MESSAGE

Zuko read the small screen and listened to Jin's message.

"Hey Zuko! It's me, Jin. I just wanted to see how you're doing so far. Um, my contest starts in about two hours. So, if you wanna stop by after the treaty and watch, feel free to do that. Bye!" Jin's voice said enthusiastically.

Just as Zuko was about to call Jin back, Mr. Iroh, once again, interrupted him.

"It is time to meet the Earth King."

"ugh, all right, let's just get this thing over with." Zuko headed out of the hotel and entered the limo once more, as Mr. Iroh was explaining things about the "highly respected" Earth King.

"--and remember, try to compliment his pet...bear." Mr. Iroh told him.

The Earth King has a pet bear? Must be one lonely king." Zuko asked, muttering the last part.

"Well, yes, he has a pet bear named...Bosco. Just try to compliment...Bosco."

Zuko looked out the window as they finally arrived at the Earth Kings' Palace.

* * *

_One hour later..._

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it Prince Zuko?"Mr. Iroh chuckled.

"Yeah, whatever, but if that stupid bear of his comes near me again, I'm breaking the treaty." Zuko threatened dusting off the saliva that Bosco just had to give him when he licked Zuko back at the Palace.

"All right, well, Prince Zuko. If you would excuse me Prince Zuko, I have some _tea _business to take care of myself." Mr. Iroh exited the hotel room, leaving Zuko by himself.

"I don't even wanna know."

Zuko checked his phone once again to see if Jin had sent him anymore voice messages. And seeing as she did, he snuck out of the hotel room and quickly drove over to the Ba Sing Se performing arts studio, where they held the contest that Jin was a part of.

He quickly checked the time and saw that he was already fifteen minutes late. He silently entered the Multi Purpose Room and found himself lost in a crowd of people. Luckily, he managed find his way out of the crowd and sat himself down at the last row, so that no one would spot him as the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation.

"Next up, Jin from the Fire Nation." the intercom lady announced. Soon, all the noise in the large room quickly died down as Jin appeared on the stage.

"For my performance, I will be doing a traditional dance or the Earth Kingdom." Jin announced. A few seconds had passed when, out of nowhere, some traditional music came blaring out. Jin quickly spun and twirled across the stage receiving several gasps and cheers from the audience. Zuko just sat there in the back watching, trying to be as silent as he could be. Jin jumped across the stage and finished off with a perfect twirl in the air. The audience cheered at the short performance and some even stood up and cheered. Jin bowed politely and disappeared backstage.

As soon as she was no longer visible from the audience, Zuko quickly made his way out and tried to find Jin.

* * *

"Hey Katara, how you doing?" Aang asked suddenly appearing behind the girl. Katara was sitting in the garden feeding the cute little turtle ducks that came to her. It was a peaceful spot. Perhaps one of the most peacul spots in the Palace.

"Oh, hey Aang. I'm just feeding the turtle ducks. They're so cute." Katara replied feeding one of the baby turtle ducks some bread.

"Are you feeling lonely now that Zuko is off in Ba Sing Se?" Aang asked sitting down next to her.

Katara looked at Aang blankly and replied, "Well, no not really. I mean I have no one to argue with, so it gets kinda boring. But its not so lonely that I'm desperate or anything."

"Oh, well, yeah same here." Aang said feeding some of the turtle ducks himself. "Must be weird getting married to Zuko because of an _arranged_ marriage."

"You bet. It's really weird considering how many times I ran into him at school and stuff. Especially the break up he had."

"Break up?"

"Yeah, you didn't know? He proposed to his girlfriend, Jin, but then she turned him down." Katara explained carelessly.

"He proposed before he married you?" Aang asked suspiciously.

To be continued...

* * *

Well, there you go, folks! I know this would be usually short for most people, but it's actually the longest I've ever written. 4 pages on MW!

-zkjanie


	22. The Day Out

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

Today is the sixth anniversary of 9-11. A tragic day in the twenty-first century of the USA.

Let's all take a moment of silence to think about the many people who had died on 9-11-01.

* * *

Palace Couple

"He proposed before he married you?" Aang asked suspiciously.

"Yeah. Is that bad?"

"It will be if the press ever gets a hold of that. But don't worry. I doubt that'll happen!" Aang reassured cheerfully.

"Hmm. Thanks Aang!" Katara sighed as she stood up. "Oh well, better head back." The two turned to look at the turtle ducks, and found them peacefully sleeping at the edge of the small pond.

* * *

Zuko calmly walked through the dozens of halls before him to find Jin. And when he did, she sure was surprised. 

"Heh. Nice dancing you did out there." Zuko said from behind.

"Oh! Hey, you made it! Did you like it? Was it okay?" Jin asked.

"Yeah. It was great." Zuko said.

"Oh, What about the peace treaty thing. How'd that go?"

"Boring"

"--We now have the contest results!" a male voice started throught the loudspeaker, as zuko and Jin (mostly Jin) listened intently.

"The contest finalists are...Haru, Lee, Coco, and Jin! Congratulations!"

"AAHHHH!!!" Jin screamed in joy.

"You made it! Congrats!" Zuko congratulated. Jin, still yelling happily, unexpectedly ran up to Zuko and practically glomped him in a hug. Thankfully, Zuko's confusion had made Jin realized what she had done.

"Uh...ahem?" Zuko coughed.

"Huh?"

"Ahem." Zuko coughed again.

"Oh!" Jin got off of Zuko and helped him up. "Sorry about that. Guess I got an overdose of happiness."

"Yeah, that might be it." Zuko agreed trying to avoid eye contact.

"...We are still broken up, right?" Jin asked awkwardly.

"Oh! Um, I-I guess."

"Okay, good. Um, I, uh, better get going. You know, tell my folks and all that." Jin said heading out, when Zuko suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Um, you wanna spend a day out? You know, to congratulate your contest winning?" Zuko asked, still a bit uncomfortable in the situation he was in.

"I-I thought we were broken up."

"No! I meant, as friends, do you wanna spend a day congratulating?"

"Um, yeah, sure I guess. Let me just get changed out of my costume first."

"Cool. Anytime you're ready." Zuko said and headed out the door.

"All right." Jin finished and closed the door to change.

_**'You really shouldn't have done that. '**_ Zuko's conscience started.

'_What are you talking about?' _Zuko's common sence argued.

_**'You shouldn't have asked her out. I mean, you're married for crying out loud!' **_

_'I didn't ask her out. Besides, I'm only spending a day with her only as friends.'_

_**'Still, you know you shouldn't have done that. What will happen when the elders back at the Palace think?'**_

"Zuko? Are you okay?" Jin waved her hand around in front of his face.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm feeling alright. Let's go."

"Okay." Jin and Zuko left the studio and got into a taxi.

_'The elders already think bad of, so it won't make much of a difference.' _Zuko's common sense had won the argument.

The taxi had stopped at the park and Zuko and Jin sat down at a bench.

"So, what would you like to do today?" Zuko asked.

"Ooh! Let's have lunch first! You know how big my appetite gets."

"Okay. Let's go to that restaurant, you know, the one where they had the chicken you liked." Zuko said, trying his best to sound happy. But no matter what he did, he just ended up sounding sarcastic.

Zuko and Jin headed down to the restaurant and ate their hearts out. As soon as they were finished, Jin suggested to head to the outdoor mall near the outer wall of Ba Sing Se.

Jin spent tons of _Zuko's_ money on tons of clothes. Clothes that didn't even look good on her.

"Hey, thanks for an awesome day! It felt just like the old times."Jin said and she lifted her head to leave a small light kiss on Zuko's cheek. Confusing Zuko and making him blush as well.

_SNAP!_ Someone;s camera near them clicked. That meant someone had taken a picture of Jin kissing the _married_ Prince Zuko!

"Hey! It's the Crown Prince!" someone yelled from across the street. All of a sudden, dozens of faces turned their way, and Zuko and Jin ran for it. They ran through narrow streets and and dark alleys, but the crowd of people just wouldn't stop chasing them.

_This'll surely lead up to the press! _Zuko thought frantically.

_**I told you. **_His conscience boasted.

"Ugh!" Zuko grunted and kept running. After much panting from both Zuko and Jin, including the mob of people, they all finally stopped.

"Glad that's over." jin sighed.

"Yeah."

"Um, I better get going. It's already dark. But, uh, thanks." Jin said and left for a taxi.

"No problem." Zuko whispered and headed back to the main hotel himself. Once he got there, he found Mr. Iroh packing all the clothes in a tiny suitcase. Then, suddenly, Mr. Iroh's head shot up to look st Zuko.

"Oh, Prince Zuko! Good, you're here. His majesty back at the Royal Palace called to know if the treaty went well..."

"And?"

"I told him it did. And now his majesty wants us to go back now. By tomorrow."

"All right. I'll start packing." Zuko groaned and was about to leave the room, when Mr. Iroh's voice interrupted him. Again.

"No need to, Prince Zuko. I already did that for you. We're gonna have to get on the plane tonight if we want to make it back by tomorrow."

"All right. I guess." Zuko finished and left the room.

* * *

"Hey Katara! Second time I ran into you today. Haha!" Aang laughed. 

"Yeah, now that I think about it. You're right!"

"So, what you doing?" Aang asked curiously.

"I'm just thinking."

"Do you miss zuko?"

"What?! No! Not really, I just kinda miss arguing with him all the time." Katara replied still thinking.

"Yeah, I guess I'd be like that too. But, hey! At least he's coming back tomorrow." Aang said in his cheerful voice.

"What? He's coming back tomorrow?"

"Yeah, didn't you hear?"

"I guess not."

* * *

_The next day..._

"This is insanity! How could've Zuko have done something like this?!" Fire lord Ozai yelled pointing angrily at the newspaper.

"This is so unlike him." Fir Lady Ursa said. "Mr. Iroh, can you bring Zuko in here please?"

A few minutes later, Zuko was seated on a chair across from his parents with them glaring angrily at him.

"How did this happen?" her majesty asked calmly, pointing at the picture of Jin kissing Zuko on the front page of the newspaper. Apparently, the person who took the picture the other day Ba Sing Se had sent the picture to the press.

"...that?"

"Yes that! Prince Zuko! You are married! Going out like this is considered cheating! And for a member of the Royal Family to be caught cheating on his wife is going to cause a lot of chaos on our reputation!" Ozai exploded out.

"But I can expla--"

"Enough! There's obviously nothing to explain about this photo."

"But--"

"I think it would be better if you just leave, Zuko." Ursa suggested calmly.

Zuko, without a word, left the room, leaving his parents and Mr. Iroh alone.

"I don't want any of this nonsense to be spread to Princess Katara. Who knows what she'll do if she finds out." Ursa warned.

"If I may say something...?" Mr. Iroh asked.

"Go ahead."

"Perhaps if Prince Zuko spent...a night with Princess Katara, he'll come to respect her?" Mr. Iroh suggested.

"Hmm...that just might work." Ozai and Ursa both said at the same time, causing Mr. Iroh to grin happily and mumble something about taking care of kids.

"Then let the preparations begin." Ursa announced.

To be continued...

* * *

Okay, so far, this is the longest I've written. WOW. 

A/N: Sorry if the characters are a bit OOC. And, just so you all know, I'm not writing like every single day for this story. Just the significant ones. Also, I know this chapter holds almost nothing about Zutara. But I swear, the next chapter will have like piles of Zutaraness.

-zkjanie


	23. The Night

**Disclaimer: I own nothing...**

* * *

Palace Couple

"Then let the preparations begin." her majesty declared.

Mr. Iroh, once again, grinned with delight and headed out gathering all the servants and maids.

Once Mr. Iroh had explained everything about the plan and preparation, the servants and maids got right to work. And Mr. Iroh quickly scurried over to Prince Zuko's chambers.

* * *

"Can't you guys at least tell me _why_ you're doing all this?" Katara complained.

The maids were busy manicuring Katara's nails, and picking out her outfits.

"I'm sorry, your highness." One of the maids, Jade, giggled. "But her majesty strictly ordered us not to tell."

"Argh!" Katara whined.

"But we can give you a hint thought." another maid, Joy, gigglesnorted. "You won't be sleeping in your room tonight."

"What? But iI thought I wasn't allowed to sleep anywhere else than my room."

"Yes, but tonight is...let's just say tonight is a special occasion." Jade explained slyly.

"God, this is so complicated!" Katara complained again.

* * *

"Prince Zuko? It is Mr. Iroh. May I come in?" Mr. Iroh knocked on the door and entered the room when Zuko just remained silent.

Zuko was sitting in his bed reading a book, but looked up as Mr. Iroh headed towards him.

"Yes?" Zuko asked suspiciously getting off his bed.

"His majesty suggests you drink this." Mr. Iroh lied and held out a small cup with steaming liquid in it in his hands.

"...What is it?" zuko took the cup and carefully smelled the flowing liquid just in case it was something gross or poisonous.

"Uh, it's a tonic for your health. The royal herbalist made it and says its really healthy for the body and soul.

Zuko, still examining the liquid in the cup, slowly brought the cup to his lips and sipped it down. While he was drinking, Mr. Iroh grinned and slowly exited the room. _There's a lot Princess Katara will have to watch out for tonight..._Mr. Iroh thought grinning happily, almost evilly.

* * *

"Are you sure I'm supposed to be here? Wearing this?" Katara asked confused and pointed at her dress. She was wearing a red satin dress with spaghetti-straps. Her hair was down and flowing against her back.

"Yes, your highness. Don't worry. You'll be fine." And with that, Jade quietly left the small room, leaving katara by herself.

"--This room? Are you sure I'm supposed to be _here_ tonight?!" A rough voice was heard yelling from outside the room. A rough voice of a certain Crown Prince.

_What's going on?_ Katara thought and when all f a sudden, the door smashed open, and Zuko was forcefully poshed inside. Not only that, someone outside had quickly locked all the doors and windows, trapping in Zuko and Katara.

"What are _you _doing here?!" Zuko yelled, staring at Katara. Who was just as surprised as he was. "And why are you wearing _that_?!"

"..." Katar remained speechless, but she definitely heard some muffled giggles coming from outside, and her eyes quickly widened as she realized what was happening.

"There's like wine and blankets in here..." Zuko's voice quickly faded and his eyes also widened in realization. _This is...!!_

"Hey! Ley us out! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Zuko suddenly exploded, but quickly stopped when he heard some rustling.

"Let us out please!" Katara yelled and tried to open the windows.

"Ugh. It's no use. Since it's winter time, they'll never open the windows." Zuko began to take off his jacket as Katara slowly stopped and sunk to the floor.

"How could they do this to us?' Katara asked herself. "Wait a minute! Feel the floor! It's freezing!"

"What?!" Zuko quickly began to feel the floor and realized that Katara was right. "Looks like they're really desperate."

"..."

'Hey, at least, they gave us this heat pad...But there's only one?!"

"..."

"This is really getting pathetic."

"Wait, but..."

"Oh well, looks like we're gonna have to sleep on the mat together. But it's not like it's the first time we've slept together, right?" Zuko said as he got under the covers.

"...b-but..."

"Oh what? Afraid I'm gonna have my way with you?" Zuko smirked.

"No! It's not that. It's just..."

"Do you honestly believe I'm going to want to have my way with a girl like you?" Zuko asked in a cocky voice.

"No, it's just that..."

* * *

"There's no way..." Aang reassured himself. "There's no way Zuko will have his way with a girl he doesn't like! But then again, he _is_ Zuko...Ugh!I'll just have to check it out myself."

Aang opened the door, but as headed out, he bumped into some guards blocking his way.

"W-What are you guys doing here?" Aang asked.

"You should head back to your room, your highness."

"You're not moving, huh?! Do you know who you're talking to?!"

"Guru Pathik ordered us to make sure you don't leave your room at all tonight."

"Guru Pathik...? Aang whispered.

* * *

"Are you getting under the covers or not?!" Zuko asked harshly. "Aren't you cold at all just sitting on the floor?"

"I said it's all right."

"What do you mean 'all right'?" Zuko quickl grabbed Katara's small hand and pulled her in.

"All right! Fine! I can get in myself!" Katara finally gave in and climbed under the covers, and laid down next to Zuko. _I've done this before, but why does it feel so awkward now? _Katara thought and faced away from Zuko.

_Wow, This definitely feels different than being like this in Katara's room. But why do I suddenly feel like doing something bad?_ Zuko thought, tryin to juts quickly fall asleep._ Why do I..._

"Zuko?" Katara's voice sudden;y interrupted his thoughts. "Can I ask you something?"

"Huh? What is it?"

"Why do you hate me?" Katara asked surprising Zuko.

"What? Why do you ask that?"

"No. Never mind."

Zuko slowly turned to face her, but she was still faced away from him. _Why would she think that?_

Zuko, without thinking, slowly brought his hand to touch her, but he was keep hesitating._Why's my hand acting like this? What's wrong with me?!_

"NO!" Zuko suddenly shot up and sat up on the bed.

"Hmm? What's wrong? You okay?" Katara slowly got up.

"No. It's just the cold."

"Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Just leave me alone!" Zuko yelled.

"Just tell me what's wrong. You can trust me..."

Zuko, unconsciously, slammed Katara down with his hands pinned on her shoulders. Basically, with him on top of her.

"Shut up and lie down!!" Zuko yelled. The so-called "healthy" tonic that his dad happened to have suggested was REALLY working up on him. "So? How 'bout it? Since we're stuck in here, why don't we just do what the majesties want us to do?"

Katara's shocked, ocean blue eyes, met Zuko's determined, fiery golden ones once more.

"Move it. And stop fooling around." Katara said, trying her best to stay calm.

"Why do you think I'm faking it when I actually mean it?" Zukom still unconscious of what he was doing, slowly began to close the small gap between them. Suddenly, Zuko's grip on her shoulder was becoming painfully tight. And he was slowly starting to pull off one of her dress straps.

_What the...hell does he think he's doing?! _Katara thought and painfully kicked him right in the gut with her knee. Thankfully for her, he off of her immediately because of the pain and leaned against the wall behind him groaning.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?! WHY'D YOU DO SOMETHING SO COMPLETELY UNLIKE YOURSELF AND SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF ME?!" Katara yelled at his face and grabbed his shirt collar. Somewhere outside, various giggles were heard throughout the palace.

But, out of nowhere, Zuko suddenly began to snicker himself. Katara stared at him, but he just ended up laughing hysterically. For the first time.

"YOU WERE FAKING IT THE WHOLE TIME?!" Katara yelled at his face again, only this time, much louder and angrier.

"Duh! Of course, I was faking it! Do you honestly think I would really do something like that?" Zuko asked smirking. "Oh what? Did you really believe that?"

"...Of course." Katara said sarcastically. "I knew someone like you wouldn't do that to a girl you hate. But still! What you did was crossing the line! Don't you EVER do that again!"

"But, uh...Katara?"

"What?!"

"Don't you think you should get off me?" Zuko asked, trying to change the subject. Since Katara was holding onto his shirt collar, she had somehow ended up practically sitting on him.

"...S-Sorry." Katara quickly got off him and sat down next to him against the wall.

"...I don't hate you." Zuko started, grabbing Katara's attention. "Why do you think that? I'm just...being careful."

"..."

"Well, if we ever separate in the future, and we see each other again on the street after that, I just want to say hi and keep walking. Without thinking about what's going on now."

"...You'll probably be able to do that from all that meditating you do, but I don't think I can do that." Katara said thoughtfully. Zuko quickly turned to look, but her blue eyes were already fixed on the floor. Slowly, small tears escaped out of her eyes. "Oh well. We're stuck in here for the rest of the night anyway, let's just go to bed." Katara said wiping her tears away and got up.

_How can she sound so innocent saying that?_ Zuko thought carefully watching her stand up. She was just about to walk away, and her hand was passing by Zuko. But he quickly grabbed her hand before she had the chance to actually walk away from him. Her head snapped his direction, but she was quickly falling, since he pulled her toward him.

Zuko's soft lips slowly met Katara's as he shut his eyes. His hand was gently caressing her cheek, and his other hand held onto her own hand. Katara, still shocked and confused by his sudden action, remained wide-eyed.

To be continued...

* * *

**WOW. Sorry, but it looks like it's OOC again.**

**Anyway, this chapter was pretty hard to write but it was fun writing it. But, for any of you that has seen the drama AND read the comic series, just so you know, I based this whole chapter from the comic series. I couldn't think of any other way to put it. Also, I hope the kiss scene was okay. I don't really know how to write it. So I just...did it.**

**Lastly, Avatar Season 2 Jump On was yesterday and NICK showed the full season 3 trailer too!! It was so much clearer!! Go to my DeviantART page to read a summary of it. And, Avatar Season 3 premiere is just a few days away!!! -SQUEE-!!!**

**-zkjanie**


	24. The Night With a Twist

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

OMG!! I saw Season 3!!! Of course, I'm pretty sure everyone else saw it too. But OMG!! Besides the icky Maiko, it was an awesome episode!!!

And, don't worry people. Zuko and Katara did NOT have...you know. So, don't get any gross thoughts on what happened. And if you do, then just keep those gross thoughts to yourself.

* * *

Palace Couple

"So, do you have any news about the Crown Prince and Princess yet?" her majesty asked.

"Oh yes, your majesty. I've assigned some maids to sit outside the room last night, and they have some news." Mr. Iroh replied.

"Yes, last night, I'm pretty sure I heard Prince Zuko telling the Princess to 'get in'" Jade said.

"Okay. Anything else?"

"Well, I'm not really sure I heard this correctly or not, but I could've sworn Prince Zuko say something like, 'So? How 'bout it? Should we just do what the majesties want us to do?' I'm pretty sure he had sad that, but I could be wrong." Jade replied again.

"Ooh, Okay, good. Is that it?"

"Well, pretty soon after that, I heard Princess Katara yelling something about someone scaring her."

"Okay. You're dismissed." her majesty finished. Jade bowed and silently left the room. But right before she entered the hallway, she quickly gave Mr. Iroh a small thumbs up, which he returned also with a quick and jolly grin splattered on his face.

* * *

_Katara, still shocked and confused by his action, remained wide-eyed._

Zuko and Katara were now back on the blankets and covers, only this time, faced toward each other, and Zuko's arm was wrapped around her small waist.

The sun was shining brightly throught the windows and hit the sleeping people, eventually waking up Zuko and Katar pretty soon after.

Zuko's eyes slowly peeled open and Katara's fluttered open. But slowly, their eyes began to widen as they stared at each other.

"Ahh!! Get your arm off me, you perv!" Katara shrieked, and the two immediately shot straight up into the air, both now completely awake.

"Me?! What are you talking about?! I didn't do anything!" Zuko protested, even though he knew perfectly that Katara was actually right.

"Oh, please! Don't try to hide it! You were doing this." Katara showed zuko how his arm wa around her by spreading her own arm across Zuko.

"Whatever!" Zuko quickly turned, obviously pissed off, and he began to reach for his jacket.

"Hmmph!" Katara did the same and tied her hair.

* * *

Aand was running endlessly through the halls to find Katara, He was out of breath, extremely tired from being worried about Katara all night, and now he was beginning to panic.

"Hey Aang!" somebody yelled from the gardens. It was Katara.

"Katara!" Aang yelled and ran toward her. "Are you okay? Did Zuko do anything? Did anything happen between you two?!"

"Aang? Are you okay? You're acting as if something terrible had happened."

"I just need to know if anything happened." Aang asked calmly.

"It's okay. Nothing happened."

"Oh, thank god!"Aang sighed in relief and gave her a _friendly_ hug.

Little did the two know that a few feet behind them was Zuko, staring angrily at the two. Almost in jealousy.

"What do you think you're doing?" Get your hands off her!" Zuko yelled, grabbing Katara's wrists firmly and dragged her away.

"Hey! Let go of me!!" Katara pulled her hand, but he didn't budge. Pretty soon, they were back at the Palace. "Hey! I said let go of me!"

"..."

Katara pulled her wrist back one more time and this time, he let go. "What was that all about?!"

"He should know not to do that to a married person." Zuko replied, with a slight tint of grudge dripping from his voice.

"What are you talking about?" I don't think you would care about _that_. I mean, come on."

"Yeah, but, what about the Palace reputation? Ever thought about that?" Zuko reasoned, trying to make sense. And to make an excuse.

"Oh." Katara finished and walked off to her room, as did Zuko.

* * *

_A few days later...Zuko, Katara, and Aang gradually started to get along just a bit better, but not much. They still got on each other's nerves._

Katara entered Zuko's fiery red room and sighed in delight of the heat. Obviously from the way she was dressed, she as cold.

"Wow. Your room is so warm! It's so cold outside. Like, i know it the Fire Nation and all, but I don't think it's ever been this cold before! Brr..." Katara said standing next to Zuko, where he was lying on his bed reading another book. "And, sleeping on the floor the other day really gave back cramps."

"Then..." Zuko simply said. "Do you wanna get in?" Zuko, still reading, held out the covers to uncover the bed.

"W-what?!"

"I don't mean it that way. There's two heat pads connected to the mattress."

"Uh...O-Oh. Um, alright. I guess." Katara hesitantly climbed in and let the heat from the bed take over her.

"..."

"Um, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"What?"

"I overheard someone saying this yesterday, but uh, I heard that I was actually supposed to be married to...Aang instead of you. Is that true?"

"..."

"Are you there?"

"Huh?"

"Well?"

"You're right...you were supposed to be marries to Aang." Zuko replied.

As surprising as that was to Katara, she just remained silent once more, except the small gasp that escaped from her lips.

To be continued...

* * *

God, I am so happy!!

R'n'R

-zkjanie


	25. The Fainted

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

SO sorry I haven't updated in a bit, I've just been doing this and that. And tomorrow is THE PAINTED LADY!!!!!!!!

And another thing to tell you, as you all know, Zuko is TOTALLY off character. Well, the reason for that is because his personality in this story is the happy tea guy personality in The Crossroads of Destiny.

* * *

Palace Couple

"_Yeah, you were supposed to be Aang's wife."_

"W-What? So it's true?" Katara gasped. "But, then how did I end up with you?"

"Ugh, do I really have to say it?" Zuko groaned. He turned o hear her answer, but the look on her face made it absolutely clear that she needed to know. "Fine, you know the hundred year old promise thing, right?"

"...Yeah?"

"Well, since Aang _is_ my cousin, the promise was actually meant for him at the time."

"Then what happened?"

"Ugh, then, for some reason, I heard he ran away because he overheard someone named Gyatso died. And since he ran away, the promise passed over to me."

"...oh"

"But why did you ask _me_ about it?"

"Well, I was going to ask Aang about it, but then I figured it'd be a bit awkward."

"Well then, why didn't you ask Uncle Iroh or something?" Zuko turned to face her again, but found that she was already asleep. _Wow, she must've been tired._

His golden eyes gazed on Katara's sleeping form and, unconsciously, his hand slowly headed to her forehead. That;s when he heard the sound of a door opening and closing.

"Prince Zuko!" his majesty yelled furiously. "What are you doing?! You know very well that you are not allowed to be on the same bed as Princess Katara unless it is planned like the night before!"

The booming sound of his majesty's voice awakened Katara, causing her to jump out of the bed.

"I suggest you get to your own room, Princess."

"Y-yes, your majesty!" Katara chirped and ran out of the room.

"If I come across any of this again..."

"All right." Zuko finished for his majesty and left the room as well, and once again, running into Katara. He was just about to head to the garden and away from her, but something interrupted him from doing so.

"What is this?" Katara suddenly asked sounding more serious than curious.

"What is what?"

"This." Katara pointed to a newspaper on the side desk in the hallway. It was the newspaper about what happened between him and Jin at Ba Sing Se.

"Uh..."

She turned the page of the newspaper, just to find the picture of Jin kissing Zuko.

"Y-You two met in Ba Sing Se, didn't you?"

"Why should I tell you?!" Zuko angrily snapped back, trying to cover up the insecurity of his inner voice.

"Because, like you said, we have the Royal Family's reputation to think about!"

"..."

* * *

Katara walked down the narrow hallway of the school. _Oh my god...What's going on between those two?_

"Hey!" someone yelled from behind. "Can we talk?"

It was Jin.

'Oh, um, I guess."

"I know you heard about Zuko and me meeting in Ba Sing Se."

"So?"

"So, I'm saying that I know you know that I kissed Zuko."

"What are you trying to say? I don't have much time."

"My point is, that kiss was just a first love thing." Jin replied, obviously trying to tick off Katara.

"Ugh." Katara just walked away, but was once again stopped by Jin.

"Look, I—What's wrong with your face? You look pale."

"Uh-ugh." Katara managed groan, but was soon on the floor.

* * *

A student ran quickly through the halls and entered Zuko's classroom.

"Katara fainted!" the kid yelled panickingly, grabbing everyone's attention.

All faces turned toward the kid's face who was now panting, especially Zuko's.

Zuko quickly ran to the spot where everyone was gathered. He weaseled his way to Katara, but when he did, he found that Aang had already beaten him there.

Aang was now helping her up. Or, at least, trying to. But instead, Zuko rushed over to Katara's side.

"I'll take it from here." Zuko said gruffly, carrying the unconscious girl in his arms and throught the swarming crowd.

He walked down the hallway, still with everyone's eyes directed at him in confusion.

Once he reached outside, another swarm of people buzzed around him. Only this time, his bodyguards and some people from the Palace were the ones buzzing.

"The bodyguards took Katara and carefully placed her on the seat in the limo, and blocked the students from bothering her.

As Zuko was about to take a seat in the car too, he turned around and spotted Jin. Obviously since he didn't know what to do, he just helplessly shrugged and got in. leaving a tearful and shocked Jin behind.

* * *

The limo finally arrived at the Palace and the bodyguards quickly rushed over to Katara, who had now gained a bit of consciousness. They guided her to her room and helped her into her bed.

Zuko and Aang however, were stopped by Mr. Iroh.

"Avatar Aang, would you mind if I talked to Prince Zuko privately?"

"Go ahead." Aang simply replied and headed down the hall.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. One minute I was at my desk. The next, some kid ran in yelling that she fainted."

"Hmm, well then." Mr Iroh finished and left Zuko to think to himself._ What caused her to faint like that?_

He slowly paced into Katara's room, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Um, are you okay?" Zuko asked, surprisingly, shyly.

Katara turned to look at Zuko and just nodded.

"Um, look, if you fainted because--" zuko was cut off when a mob of people came running in.

"Oh, my goodness, Katara! Are you okay? What happened?" Hakoda and Sokka asked at the same time. They truly were father and son.

"I'm fine." Katara reassured, when her majesty suddenly came walking in calmly.

To be continued...

* * *

One question, does anyone think I'm rushing things between Zuko and Katara? 'Cuz, as a little hint, the next chapter is gonna be called 'The Confession.'

-zkjanie


	26. The Big Question

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

OMG, did you see Sokka's Master the other day? It was awesome! Who would've thought Sokka would be loyal enough to be trained by a Fire Nation dude?

And, I've been obsessing over this totally hot and awesome actor/singer/model from Korea. This awesome dude is Lee Jun Ki. Just watching his movies and MVs and stuff really helped me write this chapter. . Lee Jun Ki rocks!!

And another thing, a lot of people have been asking my if I'm Korean. Well, truth be told: I am Korean (South).

Oh, yeah, by the way, I'm EXTREMELY AND COMPLETELY SORRY!!! I SERIOUSLY APOLOGIZE, but I know that a lot of you were really excited to read "The Confession" that I was supposed to write for this chapter, but when I started writing it, I realized that I have to write this chapter before I can actually write "The Confession". So, my bad, but this chapter is pretty important too, so I would pay attention to this chapter.

* * *

Palace Couple

"_I'm fine." Katara reassured, when her majesty came in walking calmly._

At the same time, almost instantly, everyone in the small and crammed room gasped and stepped aside for her majesty to make her way to Katara.

"Agni, hos did this happen?" her majesty immediately rushed over to Katara's side, dragging Zuko, expecting an answer from him.

"Uh, well, you see. The thing is, I don't really know." Zuko said hesitantly.

"What do you mean you don't know? How did this happen?"

"Let me explain." Katara interrupted. Suddenly, all eyes went from her majesty to Katara. "I was having a conversation with...a friend. But I think I collapsed because of this cold I had."

"You had a cold?" her majesty asked. "Why didn't you tell us? We could've gotten you much better."

"Well, I'm okay. I mean, I heal pretty quickly, so I figured it wouldn't be much of a big deal."

"Well, um, I'll just leave all you people to carry on with your conversation." Hakoda interrupted and walked over to the, dragging Sokka with him. "I was in the middle of teaching Sokka how to drive anyway. Um, so get well Katara!" And with that, Hakoda and Sokka silently left the room.

"Okay, then. I guess what we all need is just a day out, away from all this Palace business and just refreshen ourselves by taking a nice drive tomorrow." her majesty insisted. "What do you say, you two?"

"Um, I guess." Zuko shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" Katara replied.

* * *

Zuko drove down the narrow, yet empty, road to the rocky beach. In his car, along with him, was Princess Katara, and her majesty the Queen.

Today, they just decided to take a day off and just relax down at the beach together. Just the three of them.

"Ah, it sure is nice to just take a break, isn't it?" her majesty sighed.

"Yes, it is. Away from all the gossip and stuff flying around back at the Palace."

"I don't mean to interrupt, but we're at the beach now." Zuko stopped and parked the car.

"Ooh, that's good." her majesty said and got out of the car.

As soon as all three people were out, they walked down to the rocky beach and took a deep breath of fresh air and absorbed in the sandy smell.

"This really is relaxing." Katara sighed.

"It sure is. We should've brought some lunch with us." her majesty replied. Zuko, however, just remained silent as he caught himself staring at Katara, and immediately turned his head to face the beach.

The three spent most of the remainder of the day looking at the beach, until it reached sunset By this time, her majesty was already in the car, surprisingly, asleep. So now, it was only Katara and Zuko who were staring into the horizon.

"This sire is going to be hard." Katara told herself. _What am I going to do?_

"What is?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

"Tell me." Zuko said, sounding harsher than usual.

"Um, well, the thing is. By the time we have to divorce, it's going to be hard for me seeing as how close I got with her majesty and Mr. Iroh and the people here."

"Divorce? What divorce."

"What divorce? The divorce we're eventually going to have to do, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. But you seriously still want to divorce after how close you got with all the people here? What are they going to think?"

"Well, we _are_ going to eventually divorce. I mean, you said it yourself at that night. You didn't honestly think I'm going to stay here with you forever?"

"But," Zuko started to panic. "What are the King and Queen going to think? What are the reporters and outside people going to think?"

"That's exactly why I said that this will be hard." Katara reasoned.

"But--"

"What? Do you _want_ me to stay later on?"

"..."

To be continued...

* * *

I swear, guys, next chapter will be "The Confession." And, have I mentioned this yet? I LOVE LEE JUN KI!!!

-zkjanie


	27. The Confession

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

A/N: OMG, okay, I don't live in the UK, but I finished watching The Runaway, The Puppetmaster, and Nightmares and Daydreams yesterday, and I have to say, not all of it was really satisfying. I liked the Runaway and The Puppetmaster. But I didn't really like nightmares and Daydreams. Actually, I hated it. I mean, "Baby, you're my forever girl." What is that?! I'm serious, that scene was like totally out of hand. But my favorite episode out of those three was The Puppetmaster.

* * *

Palace Couple

"_What? Do you want me to stay later on?" _

"_..."_

It was an awkward silence for the both of them. There couldn't have been a time for them that was more awkward than now. Above that, they were in a romantic spot, but talking about the worst subject possible.

"Prince Zuko? Princess Katara?" a female voice sounded from the car. It was her majesty the Queen, and she had finally woken up.

Zuko and Katara rushed over to the car and got in since the Queen was now awake. Besides, they wouldn't want anyone finding out that they went to the beach alone without bodyguards, no would they?

Zuko started the old engine, but it died on him. He started it again, but it just ended up disappointing the three people.

"Um, well, should we call for help?" Katara suggested.

"No. Let's fix this ourselves. If we call for help, we'll be caught." her majesty the Queen replied.

The three people got out of the old car and checked under the hood to check what was wrong. But they realized that the engine wasn't the one that was wrong, but it was just that the gas was out.

"Well, we an't do anything else. I guess we'll just have to call for help." Zuko got out his phone and called the tow truck company while Katara and her majesty remained quiet.

It wasn't long before the tow truck came, and Zuko, Katara, and her majesty were on their way back to the Palace.

"...Do you think the tow man recognized us?" the Queen asked.

"Uh..no! Of course not. I doubt it." Katara insisted.

"Well, we better hope not, or else, his majesty would surely get furious. Not to mention, some rumors will be flying out. We already have enough terrible rumors as it it, we don't need another one." the Queen replied.

Before they knew itm they arrived in front of the Palace. There, Mr. Iroh, a few of the court ladies, a bunch of bodyguards, and Aang were waiting in front of the entrance of the Palace. The court ladies and Mr. Iroh looked carefully at the three people and realized it was his and her highness the Crown Prince and Princess, and her majesty the Queen. They quickly rushed over to the window.

"Your highnesses! Your majesty! What happened?" Mr. Iroh asked.

"WE would really appreciate it if you and the rest of the court ladies kept this between ourselves. We wouldn't want a tabloid running because of this little mishap." her majesty the Queen requested.

"Yes, your majesty." Mr. Iroh and the court ladies confirmed in unison.

* * *

Out on the dining table was tons of side dishes. A lot of the ones that Katara loved. There was seal blubber jerky, fresh tea, stewed sea prunes, seaweed pot pie, roasted nuts, and almost everything she loved to eat back when she was living with her family. 

But, for some reason, Katara had lost her appetite and hadn't even touched her plate. All she did was stare at the food, deep in thought.

"Hey, aren't you going to eat? Remember, the Queen said to try not to skip your meals since you're still sick?" Zuko said. But even though, she still didn't answer. "Hey!"

All of a sudden, Katara fell of the chair and collapsed onto the floor. Again. _I don't think that trip to the beach got her any healthier._

The servants and Mr. Iroh rushed over to her fainted side, but Zuko just wanted over. And, just like last time, Zuko moved aside everyone else and carried her back to her room.

He gently layed her doown on her bed and carefully brought up the covers. Mr. Iroh came ine quietly with a tray that had a bowl of cool water and a wet, cold rag to help cool down Katara's fever. Zuko sat down on Katara's bed and placed the rag on her forehead as Mr. Iroh left the room. When no one was looking, Zuko carefully graced his hand against her cheek and stared at her. A moment later, he soaked the rag once more in the water and placed it on her forehead again and left her to rest.

* * *

"Hello Guru Pathik." Aang greeted. 

"Hello Aang. Would you like some onion and banana juice?" Guru Pathik asked.

"Nah, but do you know where Katara is?"

"Katara? Oh! You mean Princess Katara! Yes, I saw her somewhere here and there."

"Oh, okay." Aang said and left. When Guru Pathik was alone, he got out a folder and in it was all the rumors ever spread while Katara was Princess. All of them.

Quietly to himself, Guru Pathik laughed and laughed like an evil maniac.

* * *

Aang searched through the palace for Katara's room. And when he did find it, he found Katara sleeping peacefully on her bed. Aang entered the room silently with a bouquet of flowers to cheer her up when she wakes up. As he brought a chair next to her bed, Katara slowly started to wake up. 

"Aang! It's so nice to see you! What brings you here?" Katara whispered quietly.

"To see if you were okay. Here, I brought you these flowers!" Aang said. "Oh, and I brought my marbles with me today!"

"Haha, thanks. These flowers are beautiful! Thanks. At least one person came to visit me." Katara laughed and smelled the flowers.

"No problem! Here, I brought my marbles. I'll show you a new trick!" Aang said. He brought out his marble and made them disappear. Within a second later, they all appeared in Katara's pocket.

"Wow! Great trick! Hey, can we go outside? It seems kind of stuffy in here." Katara asked. Aang nodded and they both went outside.

Once they were outside, Katara took a big breath of fresh air and sighed.

"Ah! This is so much better! I finally feel relaxed." Katara said.

All of a sudden, Zuko appeared out of nowhere and started to scold Katara for being outside.

"Hey! What is a sick peasant like you doing out here?!" Zuko scolded and dragged Katara back inside. "Get back in bed!"

"Hey! You can't call me peasant anymore!"

"I'm the crown prince. I can call you whatever I want."

"I don't care. At least you didn't even have the heart to visit me!" Katara brought up the subject.

"What are you talking about? I'm the one who carried you to the room!" Zuko yelled.

"Oh, then, why didn't you say so?" Katara giggled.

"Get back to your room!" Zuko yelled again and pushed her back inside.

"Anyway. When did you get here?" Zuko asked Aang.

"A few minutes ago."

"Hmph!" Zuko said for some reason.

That night, when everyone was asleep, Zuko layed on his bed, thinking about what Katara had asked him yesterday at the beach.

_What? Do you want me to stay later on?_

The question kept blinking in his mind. And he couldn't get it out.

_What? Do you want me to stay later on?_

His mind kept saying no, but he couldn't get himself to say it for real. The truth was, yes, he did want her to stay. There really wasn't a reason for him to say no to her. Before she came, he was the stuck up prince emotionally locked up inside because of all the palace regulations. But now, everyone in the palace, including him, were are relaxed and layed back. Now, there wasn't as much strict rules for him to follow anymore. In fact, he should've been thanking her. But his pride wouldn't let him. Not yet.

It wasn't long before sleep began to consume him.

"_Do you want me to stay?" Katara asked._

"_Yes."_

"_Really? Aww...thanks! But you know I can't. After all, I've fallen in love with Aang. Not you."_

"_What? How? **I'm **you're husband, and Aang is your cousin-in-law! How could you possibly have fallen in love with him and not me?!" _

"_He's nice to me, and treats me kindly. Unlike you. You always call me peasant and push me around."_

"_But--"_

"_Wha? Do you **want** me to stay later on?"_

"Ahh!!!" Zuko yelled. He shot straight up from his bed and realized that it was just a dream. _Wow, what a weird dream._

Zuko looked out his window and saw that it was already time for school. He got dressed and got out of his room. As usual, he walked over to the main palace room to give his morning greetings to the majesties. He stepped into the room and saw that the King, the Queen, and Mr. Iroh was staring at the ground as if something bad happened.

"Good morning" Zuko greeted and sat down. "Is something the matter?"

"Actually, yes. As it turns out, somehow, someone has been spreading out rumors all over the Internet between you and Jin."

"What?"

"Yes. Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it." Mr. Iroh said and dismissed Zuko off to school. Since he and Katara was supposed to go to school together, he went around looking for her. He kept walking around and when he couldn't find her anywhere, his emotions ran and made him worried. Tanksfully though, he had found her in the corner room behind the meeting room. And she was with Aang.

"Katara!" Zuko yelled. He stomped over to them and grabbed Katara by the wrist and grabbed her bag and dragged her to the limo. Once there, Zuko shoved the guards away and made Katara get into the car. He walked over to the other side of the car and got in and drove away.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Katara asked.

"Shut up!" Zuko barked and kept on driving, ignoring Katara. Soon, they arrived at their destination. Behind the palace.

Zuko parked the car and and the two just sat there, trying to avoid each other.

"What were you doing with him?" Zuko asked, trying to be as calm as possible.

"I was just talking to him."

"Do you know how worried I was. I thought that you were lost or something." he accidentally spilled. As soon as he said that, he covered up his mouth. Katara however didn't believe him.

Katara just plainly scoffed. "You're never honest to anyone, are you? I thought you would actually be honest with me or...Jin or something."

"..."

"You were probably never honest to anyone in your life."

Zuko turned his head to face her. "Are you serious? I was to you--"

"Either way, I thought that I had someone to lean on when I entered the palace because I thought you were honest with me." Katara said.

"..."

"No matter how mean and cold you appeared, I was actually somewhat relieved that you were here. But now, I don't think so anymore."

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked, surprising even himself at how cold he sounded.

"It hurts...to be with you now." Katara finally stated and stepped out of the car. As soon as she did, Zuko too stepped out and followed after her.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Zuko yelled, and Katara stood in place and turned around when he finally reached her.

"In the beginning, you said we'd get divorced. Fine, let's get divorced." Katara said in attempt to change the subject.

Just now realizing what she meant, Zuko's eyes widened. "What? What if I don't want to?"

"You can't tell me what I can and can't do; I'm not a toy."

"..."

"Look, I know you want to be with Jin and all, but...as long as we're together...let's at least be respectful toward each other, all right? Otherwise, we might even want to forget we were once together."

"..."

"If I don't want to live under the same sky as you, then...I don't think I'll be able to stand it." Katara said calmly.

"..Is palace life that hard? If a divorce is what you want,...then fine. I'lll give you a divorce." Zuko stated looking at her.

"You're the one who first brought it up, you jerk!" Katara yelled

"That's because I didn't like you at first."

"..."

"A stranger comes into my life asking questions. You made me feel as if my life was a lie. Everything I believed was true in the world, you made me feel as if it was all a lie."

"..."

"I often find myself asking this: Can I go on without you?"

Katara's eyes had turned wide-eyed at what he said and slowly started to realize what he meant. "You mean...you can't be..."

"Well, I guess I can live without you, but..."

Katara just scoffed and turned her back on him.

"People get used to whateer their situation is. That's life. I was fine without you for 17 years and even if you leave, I'll get used to it."

Once again, she scoffed.

"But I'll miss you. All those times of arguing, being annoyed, then making up again...it all became a habit."

"Then that's it. You can just break old habits." Katara finally said something.

"How? You have to at least tell me!"

"I don't know. You're smart. Go firgure it out yourself." she sighed and started walking with her back facing him again. But before she knew it, she was somehow wrapped in a hug from behind. The only person that was possible of doing that right now was...Zuko. "Hey? What are you doing? Let go."

"Just a minute. Can we just stay like this for a minute?" He whispered. Slowly, after a minute, he let go of her and turned her around to face him. And once again, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug, leaving her completely speechless.But eventually, Katara returned the hug.

To be continued...

* * *

Okay, ppls, I changed the chapter a bit. I decided to take the kisss and the i love you part out to save it for later. So dont bash me or whatever! ANd can you ppl PLEASE tell me how the new version of this chapter is? I know its OOC and sorta rushed and that it barely makes sense and stuff, but yeah...


	28. The Ooh and Aah

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

A/N: SORRY!!!! I'm SO SORRY for not updating in...weeks. OMG, I'm REALLY SORRY. It's just that I've had this TERRIBLE writers' block, this STUPID report that doesn't even make sense due, all my friends are keep asking me to update the stories I wrote that are based on them, and I've been angry that Nick decided to push off The DoBS until next week when it was supposed to air this week! But luckily, I already saw it! Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Palace Couple

Her majesty and and Mr. Iroh were sitting in the main living room of the magnificent palace going through pictures of Zuko when he was just a wee little baby. They even managed to find Zuko's little baby clothes in one of the boxes that they found.

Her majesty gasped, "Wow, I can not believe that this was still kept here all these years!"

"Yes, it sure is incredible how long this was here." Mr. Iroh agreed.

"Yes, and to think that the little baby is now old enough to get married and even take the throne..." her majesty said and hugged the little shirt. "Don't you agree Iroh?"

"I agree, your majesty." Mr. Iroh agreed once more.

"And now, we'll have a new family member next year, won't we?" her majesty asked, recalling the night where the Crown Prince and Princess had to share the room. Mr. Iroh just nodded, silently grinning in delight at the thought of Zuko and Katara having a child.

"I think we should pass this onto the child." her majesty suggested.

--

The next day at school, everyone quickly rushed to their desks as soon as the teacher came in.

"Now, let's see who's absent today." the teacher said and started calling out names for his attendance sheet. Katara was turned around however wondering where Aang was and why he hadn't shown up at school.

"Katara!" the teacher called, but Katara apparently didn't hear him and just remained silent staring at Aang's empty seat.

"Your highness!" the teacher finally said, and this time, Katara finally did respond.

"Yes!"

"Oh, I see. You won't answer me unless I say your highness now?" Everyone snickered and went back to work as the teacher continued calling names. After a while, his lecture began.

"Now, when you say something in a foreign language..." he began.

Katara, who wasn't paying any attention whatsoever, was just staring blankly into space. Suki, who was also in the class, noticed this and whispered something.

"Hey, did you see the article on the Internet about the Crown Prince suddenly becoming overprotective?" she whispered.

"Yeah," Katara whispered back. "I've been wondering how it spread so fast in just one day."

"Hey! Katara! Are you paying attention?" her teacher asked.

"Huh?"

"Well, in that case, read the first sentence!"

--

After school, Katara was still wondering where Aang was and why he wasn't at school, and decided to stop by his house which was near the palace. She looked around the living room and the den and even the kitchen, but couldn't find him. So she decided to head out when she ran into one of the court ladies from the palace in the house standing before her.

"Your highness, what are you doing here?" she asked politely.

"Oh, um, Aang wasn't at school today, so I though he was sick or something." Katara replied. "Is he inside? Can I go inside?"

"I'm sorry, your highness, but he had refused any visitors today."

"But...he'll probably say okay if its me. Can you ask him for me?"

"I'm sorry, but not even Guru Pathik was allowed to visit him today. Forgive me, your highness." the court lady bowed.

"Oh, then, can you tell him I stopped by?"

The court lady nodded and bowed once more, and Katara left to go to the main Palace. Once there, she decided to go straight to her room, but ran into Zuko by accident.

"Uh...um, I went to see Aang, but he said he doesn't wanna see anyone right now."

"..."

"He didn't show up at school and I haven't seen him since yesterday. Do you think he's really sick?"

"...He's probably just busy." Zuko replied and went to his room. Katara just stood there as if she was going to say something more, but decided not to and headed straight back to her own room. As soon as she was gone, Mr. Iroh knocked on Zuko's door and came in.

" His majesty asked for you to come see him in the main ro--" Mr. Iroh started.

"What's the Crystal Pavilion for?" Zuko suddenly asked.

"Sorry? What do you mean?"

"I didn't know there was such a place. It sorta looked like a private library. Who used it?" Zuko curiously asked.

"Uh...it's actually just an empty room."

"Is it? I wonder how Aang found out about it."

"Uh, does he go there often?" Mr. Iroh asked, sounding suddenly concerned.

"Nevermind. Let's go."

--

Once Zuko got to the main room of the Palace, he found his father sitting on the chair looking disappointedly at an article in the newspaper.

"You called for me?" Zuko asked.

"Yes. Would you care to explain what this is?" his father asked and showed him the article that was on the newspaper along with a picture. It was an article about yesterday morning when he dragged Katara out of the palace to have a talk with her. As he read the article, he realized that apparently, the press thought that he was being over possessive or overprotective of her. "Answer me!"

"I won't give excuses."

"I told you to explain to me!"

"It's all my fault." Zuko insisted trying to crawl out of this situation and away from his father.

"You're going to be king some day. I thought your mother and I told you to be cautious at all times!"

"..."

"How can you be so thoughtless as to have the press find out about something as pointless as this?!"

"Forgive me." Zuko said coldly.

"I thought your mother and I taught you to be a sage king. Why is it that you're now more of a scoundrel?!"

Zuko smirked, "I was probably born with it."

"What?!"

"..."

"Do you think you're still qualified to be Crown Prince?" his father asked calmly.

"You're always dissatisfied with me. So don't worry. There are others worthier of the throne."

"WHAT?!"

"I will leave now." Zuko finished and got up and left the room. As he left, he saw the Queen right outside looking at him. He really liked his mom and all, but today, he just decided to ignore her and keep walking.

As soon as he was out of sight, the Queen walked in to talk to her husband.

"...I'm afraid he's becoming more rebellious." the King sighed.

"I think it's common for teen boys his age." the Queen replied. "I'm sure if you pay more attention and treat him kindly, he'll change."

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried that he's showing no signs of change." The King replied, sounding more different than usual. Usually, he couldn't really care less about his son changing or not. "Why are you always overprotective of him? The Crown Prince is all crooked because of you're so overprotective of him!"

The Queen silently scoffed and replied, "You must see the heart of the problem here." She sighed again, and so did the King. "And I don't think this is happening because he's a rebellious teenager. Any bad relationships should be gone in our generation."

"Wh-What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, but only received a turn of the Queen's head in reply.

"The article and such about what happened is making the press and the people question if the Zuko has what it takes to rule our country."

"What are you trying to say? All countries with a royal family has the same type of problem. It's not only us!" The Queen suddenly said.

"That's true. It sure is hard to keep a dynasty going in modern society. However, I think what's keeping me like this is wondering whether or not Zuko is fit to be Crown Prince, and even the future ruler."

"I think Zuko already knows what's at stake. Just be patient with him." the Queen finished.

--

"Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness. How did this happen?" Gran Gran started questioning and pointed at the article and picture in the newspaper, with Hakoda and Sokka hovered around her staring at the newspaper as well.

"Oh my god! How am I going to face my school with having the kids there finding out that my brother-in-law is so draggish of my sister!" Sokka whined.

"That's not the problem right now!" Hakoda stated.

"Hey, when Prince Zuko came over a few weeks ago, did he seem violent at all?" Gran Gran asked.

"No, he seemed sorta the opposite when he came." Hakoda replied.

"Of course, cold as ice." Sokka said.

"Hey, Maybe he's putting on a show, and inside, he's really possessive?" Gran Gran suggested.

"Hey, Hey! I don't think my little baby sister will take that! She'll probably beat the s out of him!" Sokka said, obviously not knowing much about Katara. Especially by what he just said.

--

"I'm worried about this scandal, it's getting to be pretty big." her majesty whispered to herself.

"Surprisingly, I'm more worried about Zuko." his majesty said in reply.

"I even heard that some people are starting to gossip about him." her majesty said.

"Hmm, maybe if we hold a press conference to explain what happened? Perhaps that will clear things up."

"Um, if I may?" Mr. Iroh interrupted.

"Oh no, go right ahead." her majesty insisted.

"I actually think it would be better to have him casually appear in public." Mr. Iroh suggested.

"But...the press will be there as well." her majesty said.

"Maybe people will just forget if we don't make such a big deal about it." Mr Iroh said.

--

Katara and the court ladies were busy hula-hooping in the Princess' room, and they were all breathing deeply at the same time to keep the hula-hoops up.

"God!! My picture's gonna be everywhere again!" Katara yelled because of the noise that the hula-hoops made. "I should've at least done something about my face!"

"What are you talking about, you highness? Your face looks just fine to me!" one of the court ladies said.

"Oh please, are you kidding me? My face looks so round! It's all round and beaming just like the moon!" Katara yelled and made the court ladies giggle.

"Well, you did look a bit better when you were ill a few weeks ago and stopped eating." the other court lady said.

"Hmm. Then should I start starving?" Katara asked.

"Whatever pleases you, your highness!" the two court ladies said.

"But why is it that food tastes so good nowadays?" Katara asked, and the court ladies once again giggled. "Oh, whatever! From now on, I'm gonna starve myself!"

The kept spinning the hula-hoops, but one of the court ladies immediately stopped and bowed at something behind them. The other court lady asked why she stopped and turned around to see Prince Zuko behind them. She too then bowed. But Katara just kept on going, even though she knew perfectly well that Zuko was behind them.

"Hey, isn't it a bit early to be hula-hooping?" Zuko asked coming up in front of Katara. But Katara just ignored him and kept hula-hooping. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"What? Wouldn't you like it if I was prettier?" Katara asked carelessly.

"The thing is, I don't like skinny girls." Zuko lied.

"Well, you told me to lose some weight! Why don't you go and try to build some muscle?!" Katara asked. But she already knew how much muscle Zuko really did have. And, Katara was already satisfied with him.

"What are you talking about? I'm already perfect!" Zuko said.

"What?" Katara asked and dropped her hula-hoop. "Hahahahaha... Again, he thinks he's all that." she said to the court ladies.

"On second thought, you should keep on spinning."Zuko scoffed. "You were _really_ heavy that other time when I had to carry you." Zuko finished and left.

"What? Well, don't worry! Hey, keep spinning!" Katara told her court ladies., and they immediately started again. Secretly, while Katara wasn't looking. Zuko smirked. But it was a nice smirk. Not the mean kind he usually did.

--

The next day, Zuko and Katara showed up at the National Central Museum where they were invited by the Earth Kingdom Ambassador to hear the concert. They were also both surrounded by tons of bodyguards. They both greeted the Ambassador and headed off to the main room where they concert was held.

"But I don't like classical music." Katara whispered as they were walking.

"..Smile, okay?" Zuko whispered back.

And surely enough, Katara was right about not liking the music. The music was entirely boring, not to mention depressing. Everyone in the audience payed close attention to the music that was being played, but Katara was slouched in her seat and her head was nodding from side to side as she was beginning to fall asleep during the concert. At one point, her head tilted off toward Zuko, but his hand accidentally bumped into her head causing her to wake up.

"Ow..." Katara muttered and rubbed her head.

"Hey, wake up. People are watching." Zuko mumbled.

"Huh? Fine. But this music makes me so sleepy. You know what, I'm gonna go to the bathroom, be right back." Katara said and stood up to go to the bathroom.

Once there, she looked at herself in the mirror and tried depserately to keep her eyes open.

"Wow, that was like the perfect sleeping pill. God, I need to stay awake!" Katara yawned. She even tried stretching her own face to stay awake. But it was no use. As she was going to give up and head back, she accidentally slipped on some water on the floor and ended up on the floor.

"Ow! What the heck!" Katara said and sat on the chair to see what damage was done to her shoe. And as she checked, she realized that the heel on her shoe was extremely close to coming off. "Ugh! What do I do?! Photographers are crawling everywhere outside!1 What do I do!!" And Katara desperately tried to stick the heel back on the shoe.

Just outside the girl's bathroom, Zuko was standing outside, waiting for Katara to come out.

"Katara!" Zuko whispered. But when he got no response, he whispered her name again. "Katara!" But just as he was about to call her name again, her voice appeared.

"I'm here." she called out.

"I thought you ran away or something." Zuko said. "It's almost over. Hurry up and come out!"

"...I can't." Katara whispered. Zuko, who had a questioned look on his face, slowly looked around. He regrettably thought about what he had to do next, but did it anyway. He stepped into the girl's bathroom, and dragged Katara out.

They were able to sneak off to the staircase where no one would be able to find them, and she kept on trying to put the heel and the shoe together.

"Stick! Stick I said! Stick!" Katara said and tried to put it together.

"What are you doing?!"

"Can't you tell? I'm trying to put these two together!"

"Ugh, well its no use then." Zuko said. "Uh, take them off."

Katara, who thought that Zuko meant her clothes, quickly covered shielded herself. "What?!" But she was wrong. Instead, Zuko tooks both her shoes and quickly broke the heel on her other shoe. That way, both her shoes were equal leveled and she wouldn't look lop-sided.

"But, why did you think I was going to run away?" Katara whispered curiously.

"Because I know you will if you wanted to." Zuko quickly replied, and Katara just smirked. But as they were walking interviewers gathered around them rather quickly.

"Can we have a quick interview?!" One of the reporters asked. Pretty soon, even photographers gathered around them. Zuko subtly nodded and stopped, with Katara right behind him. "Do you have anything to say with the current article going around?"

Zuko paused for a second and finally replied after stealing a quick glance at Katara, who looked as frightened as ever. "I just had to talk to her in private, that's all."

"Hmm, then, do you having anything to say about the rumor that your marriage is currently failing?"

"...well, in case you haven't already noticed? We _are_ only newly-weds."

_Hmm, impressive._ Katara thought and smiled.

"Well then, how about an intimate pose for tomorrow's paper?" one of the photographers called out.

"...sure. As you wish." Zuko hesitated and then smirked. Before anyone knew it, especially Katara who barely paying any attention at all to the interview, Zuko quickly but gently caressed Katara's face with his warm hands and left a lingering kiss on her cheekbone. Surprising everyone as the sounds of pictures getting taken was busted out.

To be continued...

* * *

Well, hope you liked this chapter. And I'm INCREDIBLY sorry if the characters, especially Ozai, was OOC. (BTW, I know Ozai was extremely OOC in this chapter, but I think I made him that way for this story) But I couldn't help that since this chapter was actually taken directly out of episode 15. Actually, this chapter alone isn't the entire episode 15. The last scene of the chapter before this was actually a part of the episode. But anyway hope you like it! And, wow, this chapter is by far the longest I've written! 8 pages on MS!! But anyway, please review!!

-zkjanie


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in over a...month? Wow, that's a long time. And I apologize for that. It's just this chapter was sorta hard to write, especially the beginning. Plus, I've been going through a lot lately so yeah. I mean, I got a huge fever, I almost got sued, I saw the Western Air Temple, etc...But here you go! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

After the long and boring day at the Natural Central Museum, Zuko and Katara finally managed to get some time alone the next day. At the beach. Sure it was a bit awkward considering what happened just a few days before, but at least they got some time alone.

It was a cold and foggy day at the beach, but it was also somewhat passive. The ocean was calm, the sand wasn't burning hot, and there was also no one else there! But there was a patch of something that looked like raw blubbered seal jerky. But neither of them really cared about that.

Out of the car that Zuko was driving, Katara was determinedly staring out the tinted window and looking out to the beautiful empty beach.

"Wow! Doesn't it look amazing?!" Katara sighed, and Zuko just looked at her and smiled. Finally, they arrived and the two royals stepped out of the car and walked together to the beach. Excited, Katara ran straight for the hanging raw blubbered seal jerky, taking pictures of them, with Zuko chasing after her. Then happily grabbing the camera from her hands, Zuko started snapping pictures of Katara. The sound of laughing echoed throughout the beach as Katara chased after Zuko this time.

Behind the camera, Zuko took many pictures of Katara. Ones of her hugging a pole, making a face, staring at blubbered seal jerky. Hilarious pictures.

Soon after, Katara grabbed Zuko's hand and pulled him down to sit down. Happily, she put her arm around his head and took a picture of them together. Laughing heartily, Zuko quickly stood up and piling sand on top of Katara's feet.

"Ahahahahah!!" Katara laughed as Zuko gave her a piggyback ride across the beach. Zuko gently put her down and took another happy picture of her. Katara then grabbed Zuko's jacket and put it on herself and crouched down near a seal jerky. "Look, I'm a seal!" Katara yelled. Laughing, Zuko took a picture of her once again.

Back at the car, Zuko was sitting in the back seat with Katara's head next to him as she was lying down there. Katara was slowly shifting in the seat as Zuko was playing around with the camera.

"Congratulations." Katara congratulated.

"On what?" Zuko asked. Katara sat on her seat and looked at Zuko.

"On being a real human being instead of a cooped up Crown Prince." Katara sighed and looked out the window once more as Zuko silently took yet another picture of her. Katara chuckled as Zuko was playing with the camera again and lied back down. Looking back at her, Zuko quietly brought his arm up and took hold of Katara's hand.

--

The car finally arrived at the Summer Palace, which was close to the beach that Katara and Zuko were just at. Zuko and Katara stepped out of the car and Katara looked around looking confused.

"Where are we?" Katara asked.

"This is out Summer Palace." Zuko replied.

"Summer Palace?"

Zuko nodded and replied again, "A temporary palace where we spend the summer."

"Wow! Sounds exciting!" Katara smiled and followed after Zuko into the Palace. As the two headed up the stoop to the entrance, a man quickly ran out and greeted them.

"Your highness!" the man yelled and bowed. "I'm honored to have you here!"

Katara bowed as well, even though it wasn't really mandatory seeing as she's the Crown Princess.

"You should've called first. But what brings you here?"the man bowed again.

"How have you been?" Zuko smiled.

"Very well your highness. Isn't this the Crown Princess?" the man asked, just now realizing that she was there. "Your servant is honored to meet you!"

Bowing again, Katara replied, "Hello sir!"

"We'll be staying here for tonight. Is that okay with you?" Zuko asked.

"Oh of course, your highness! Your servant will prepare your room right away!" the man said and led Zuko and Katara into the Palace. Looking around, Katara found a room and entered. She quickly walked over to the large window and opened it, looking outside again. Finally spotting Katara inside the room, he walked over and sat down next to her.

"Wow. Hey." Katara said.

"Huh?" Zuko asked.

Looking outside and smiling, Katara asked, "Aren't you hungry? Let's eat!"

"Eat?" Zuko sighed.

"Uh-huh!" Katara exclaimed. "Come on! I'm hungry!"

Zuko just sighed and looked out the window.

"Oh come on! You're a prince, you should at least know how to cook!"

"Yeah, I know how." Zuko said.

"Then let's eat. C'mon, I'm hungry!" Katara said and shook his shoulders.

"Okay, we'll eat." Zuko agreed, finally giving in. "But check this out! Isn't the view nice?" Zuko pointed at the view outside the window.

"B-but all I can think about is food!" Katara exclaimed. "C'mon, let's eat! Eat, eat, eat, eat, and eat!"

Managing to escape from the Summer Palace guards, Katara and Zuko snuck into a nearby market and grabbed a cart, as they entered. Turning around a corner inside the market, Zuko quietly grabbed a box and put it in the cart.

"W-why did you grab this?" Katara asked and placed the box back into it's original spot.

"What?" Zuko asked, this time grabbing a stack of some other boxes with food. But once again, Katara snatched them from his hands and put them back. Giving up, Katara just grabbed the cart and started walking around some more. Behind her back, Zuko quietly grabbed the boxes again and followed after her. Walking along an aisle, Zuko trailed behind Katara and held out a big piece of radish in her face.

"Radish!" Zuko yelled. But Katara held out a much smaller piece in front of his face from the cart. "Right." Zuko muttered and put his piece of radish back. But as Katara was looking through the line of fish, Zuko walked around and placed a big bag of onions in the cart.

"Onions are good for you." Zuko smiled.

"Put it back."

"Got it!" Zuko said and grabbed the bag of onions again. After grabbing many different foods, they finally made their way to the cash register. After much embarrassment from Zuko's "grabbing-every-food-he-could-see" behavior at the market, Zuko and Katara finally made it back at the Summer Palace and they were now in the kitchen cooking together to make their dinner. Finally, they finished cooking their steamy dinner.

"Wow, it looks so good!" Katara exclaimed and picked up her chopsticks and started eating. "God, this is so delicious!"

"Yeah, I know." Zuko agreed.

"Um, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"I just—why did you bring me here today? I mean, you've never done this before."

"..."

"Is this like a...farewell trip or something?"

"What? Why do you think that?" Zuko asked, sounding surprised.

"Because of what we said last time. And Jin too."

"Don't let Jin get to you." Zuko said looking down at his food. "I wouldn't take you on a farewell trip."

"Well, a farewell trip does sound sort of silly. Oh, the rice isn't fully done, but it's okay." said Katara, trying to change the subject and took another spoonful of the rice.

"Then why don't we live together forever?" Zuko smirked. But right then, Katara choked on her food and coughed, and a piece of rice landed on Zuko's cheek.

"Oh, um, sorry Zuko. I didn't do it one purpose. I mean it." Katara apologized and took the piece of rice off his face.

"You know, you're the first person to spit rice at the Crown Prince's face." Zuko smirked again.

"...sorry." Katara said and ate another spoonful of rice.

"Sometimes I want to let you go and sometimes I don't." Zuko said.

"..."

"So we should stay together until I decide to let you go."

"um, why? Do you think you'll be bored?" Katara asked quietly.

"No. I enjoy your company." Zuko smiled, obviously surprising Katara due to her eyes widening.

The next morning, Zuko and Katara were at the beach again. Only this time, they were both still in the car.

"You know, you look sadder and lonelier than I do." Katara said, noticing Zuko's look on his face."That's why...I don't know when it started...but I started liking you."

Making sure he heard her correctly, Zuko's eyes widened and he looked back at Katara, who just plainly smiled back at him.

--

Back at the Main Palace, Zuko and Katara both finally arrived there. But now, Zuko was in his room as he put turned on the TV to watch something. But then, Katara showed up in his room and walked over to sit down next to Zuko.

"What? Even your computer has a remote? Not fair. Everything here is automatic, isn't it? The dark room door, the computer..." Katara realized and tried grabbing the remote from Zuko.

"Just sit still and watch." Zuko said and pointed at the slide show on the screen. Katara looked at all the pictures that Zuko took at the beach on the slide show and laughed.

"Haha, I look good in pictures, don't I? You look weird. Your head looks big compared to mine." Katara laughed and continued looking at the pictures.

"Shut up and look." Zuko smirked. He pressed the button on the remote once again, and this time, a funny looking picture of Katara making a face showed up and Zuko laughed heartily as Mr. Iroh, who was also with them, quietly chuckled.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Katara yelled and blocked the screen on the TV. "You're trying to embarrass me in front of Mr. Iroh aren't you!" But all of a sudden, Katara's phone vibrated. "Hey, it's dad. Dad?"

--

"Why don't you give the Crown Prince a small task?" her majesty, Queen Ursa, asked the King.

"I find it hard to trust him nowadays." his majesty sighed.

"He's still young, and he needs your attention and guidance. You must lead him along the right path."

"Ever since that little incident a few days ago, people are beginning to question whether he's worthy to be Crown Prince."

"..." her majesty just sighed.

"The Royal Family is a symbol of history, but also a spiritual guide for the people." his majesty started. "The monarchy exists due to the efforts of the people who wanted to preserve it. The Crown Prince's role is more important in a time like this."

"You know, I hope you would be more considerate to the Crown Prince. I'll assist you with all my heart."

Just then, a court lady stood behind them. "Your majesty, Avatar Aang has arrived."

"Avatar Aang?" her majesty asked.

"Tell him to come in." his majesty said. Avatar Aang then stepped into the room and bowed.

"Welcome, Avatar Aang. So then, what brings you here?" his majesty questioned.

"I came to speak to you."

"You did?" his majesty asked.

"I'll be leaving now. Enjoy your conversation." her majesty stated, seeing as how she was not needed, and got up to leave.

--

Meanwhile, Jin arrived at the transportation station(train station), and sat down at the empty bench in the empty room, remembering the last time she came there.

_Zuko was sitting down on the bench and placed his small bag to the side. Somewhere on the same bench was a shy Jin, who had also placed her bag next to her._

"_Did you run away from home too?" he asked._

_Just then, Jin's eyes widened and looked back at Zuko, who smiled back at her._

Jin sighed at the memory.

_Jin and Zuko were now walking together down the long empty road. Jin spun around and saw Zuko following her, and she blushed and turned back around. But now, they were on another bench together outside the small train station. And Zuko was playing with a camera. As Jin looked up at the white sky, Zuko looked around and took a picture of a snow covered tree. Noticing how Jin was looking up, he took a picture of her._

_--_

Back at the school, Jin walked down the hall by herself, trying to ignore the stupid looks the other students were giving her.

"Hey, I heard she seduced him." one girl said.

"Who does she think she is?" another girl said.

With a forlorn look on her face, she kept on walking until she noticed a certain Crown Prince in the balcony of the school. Silently, she walked up to him and leaned against a wall.

"This place is just as same as before." Jin started trying to make conversation.

"..."

"Remember how we would meet here in secret in our first year?" Jin said again.

"..."

"Remember what happened when we were in Ba Sing Se?"

"..."

"You may want to forget what happened, but I loved it. I've always been a dark friend, but then, I felt as if I was your real friend."

"..."

"Thanks." Jin thanked and looked down at her shoes. But Zuko just silently tried to leave the balcony. But before he fully left, Jin quickly asked something. "Let me just ask you one thing. Do you really like her?"

"...I think I've begun to like her." Zuko finally said. But all Jin did was scoff as Zuko left. Feeling depressed, Jin slowly walked into the girl's bathroom and washed her face, once again having a flashback.

"_You want to get married?" Zuko asked._

"_Get married?"_

"_Yeah, and I don't want to get married to a stranger."_

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Jin just stood there, with the sink still on.

"_I think I've begun to like her."_

Jin just closed her eyes.

--

Katara quietly walked down the staircase and walked behind Zuko. As silent as possible, Katara poked his back as hard as she could and stood next to him, chuckling.

"What'cha doing?" Katara curiously asked. Zuko just put an arm around her and showed her the camera that he was playing with, again.

"Hey look at this." Zuko said and pointed at the camera. Katara looked carefully at the lens, but Zuko pushed her head against it and snickered.

"Ow!"

"Oh, hey! Look at that!" Zuko said again and pointed toward the other direction. Katara, obviously gullible, looked that direction as Zuko quietly took a picture of her again.

"What?" Katara asked.

"Nothing."

"You took a picture of me, didn't you?" Katara gasped and tried to take the camera.

"What? Why would I do that?"

"I heard the flash!"

Across the hall, a student ran into the Drama/Film Class and yelled, "Guys! Guys! Come quick! Jin! It's Jin!"

"What about her? What happened?" another student asked.

"Jin, she...she took some pills!"

"What?!" Jin's guy friend, Bo In, yelled.

"In the restroom!" the student yelled as Bo In pushed him aside and ran straight toward the restroom. In the girls' restroom, two girls were hovering over Jin, who was lying on the bathroom floor, with a jar of spilled pills in her hand.

"What should we do? Should we call someone?" one of the girls asked. Just then, Bo In ran in and carried Jin out of the bathroom.

"Move It! Move It!" Bo In yelled and carried her down the hall as a large group of students were swarming around them. Just then, Toph and Suki pushed everyone aside and chased after Bo In and Jin. Bo In ran down the hall and was about to run down the stairs but saw Katara and Zuko walking toward them. Seeing Jin unconscious, Zuko's and Katara's eyes widened as Bo In just ran down the stairs with everyone else following after them.

To be continued...

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter. And next time, I swear, I'll update faster!! And, I have to say, I don't really like this chapter. Probably because of Jin's flashbacks and stuff. And I know a lot of the characters are incredibly OOC and stuff, but the story doesn't work without them being OOC. But personally, I don't think Zuko was OOC though. Seeing as how he's good now.

-zkjanie


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

A/N: You all know how in every good drama or story, there's always some kind of villain? Well, in order to make this story good, I'm gonna need a villain, but here's the problem, I have absolutely no idea who the villain should be. I mean, it can't be Ozai, since I already gave a him a reputation of not being as evil as in the show in this story, and it can't really be Aang, since well, it can't. So as of right now for this chapter, the temporary villain will be Azula, who's going to make a sudden appearance for this chapter. But please, suggest some villains, but if you like Azula to be the villain person, then just say so.

"_Move It! Move It!" Bo In yelled and carried her down the hall as a large group of students were swarming around them. Just then, Toph and Suki pushed everyone aside and chased after Bo In and Jin. Bo In ran down the hall and was about to run down the stairs but saw Katara and Zuko walking toward them. Seeing Jin unconscious, Zuko's and Katara's eyes widened as Bo In just ran down the stairs with everyone else following after them._

While everyone was hovering over the staircase and panicking, Aang silently stood at the second staircase above them, quietly looking down at everyone, with a slightly shocked look on his face.

At the Palace, Zuko and Katara walked together side by side into the main living room near their rooms. The court ladies silently greeted them by bowing and exited the room soon after. Not wanting to make conversation in this situation, Zuko quietly started to walk off to his room. But was interrupted when Katara tried to say something.

"Shouldn't you go see Jin?" Katara asked. Not saying anything, Zuko just stole a quick look and turned back to head for his room. Sighing disappointedly, Katara too headed for her own room.

At the hospital in which Jin was resting at, Bo In walked into her room carrying a tray of food in his hands. Seeing as how she was awake and sitting on her bed, Bo In greeted her.

"Hey, you're awake." Bo In smiled and sat down on the guest seat in front of her.

"..." Jin just sighed.

"My uncle owns this hospital."

"...um, I want a different room. I can't afford a ward like this." Jin replied and was about to get up. But Bo In just stopped her.

"Don't do this, Jin. It's okay."Bo In said. "You don't have to worry about the money. I'll take care of it."

"..."

"Jin...don't do this anymore. Believe it or not, I think Zuko's moved on and likes that other girl now. Don't wait for him. If he wanted to go back to you, He would've a long time ago."

Once again saying nothing, a single tear slid down Jin's pale face.

"It's his fault you're here right now, and he didn't even bother to come and visit." Bo In told her. Feeling slightly disappointed when she realized that he was right, Jin just lied back down on the bed, her back facing him. Seeing that she was tired, Bo In stood up and left the room. "Get well soon."

Back at the Palace, Katara sat on the seemingly small couch and put her head down in sadness. Even though she never really got along well with Jin, she couldn't help but feel sorry about this whole situation.

Behind her at the doorway, two of the court ladies quietly walked in but decided to stay there, not wanting to interrupt Katara.

"What's wrong?" one of the court ladies asked.

"I don't know, I've never seen her like this." the other court lady replied, and the two just walked away.

Moving her head around in despair, Katara whispered to herself. "Was it because of me?" She just sighed and stood up to head to her room when she noticed Zuko sitting around in his room in despair as well. Sighing once more, Katara walked off into the garden where she ran into Aang.

"I was surprised too, I didn't think she would go that far." Aang started.

"Aang, why do you think she would do something like that? Is it because of me?" Katara asked. "If I hadn't stuck my nose in on them, this probably would've never happened. Was she hurt that much because of Zuko?"

"I can tell how she feels. Your head tells you to give up and finish everything, but your heart grows even fonder."

"But did she really have to go that far?"

"Katara?"

"Huh?"

"Give Zuko back to Jin."

"What do you mean?"

"He was hers from the beginning. Zuko can't divorce you as long as he's Crown Prince." Aang said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"..."

"You should let go of _him._"

"But Zuko likes me..."

"He might have opened up to you. But his feelings toward Jin were greater than what he felt for you." Aang said harshly, making Katara frown. "Eventually he'll go back to her."

"But...he married _me_. Divorcing might make things harder for him--" Katara tried objecting.

"That's up to him to decide. Look at how much Jin is suffering because of her memories of love. We all might have to go back to where we were in the beginning."

--

"Does anyone know where Princess Azula has been? She's been gone for quite a while." her majesty asked. She never really like her daughter that much and knew that Azula would've done anything to get the throne, but she _was_ her daughter. And even though they all knew the she was somewhere in the Fire Nation Royal City, nobody really knew that she was somewhere lurking around in the Palace.

"I'm not quite sure where she is exactly. However, a few pictures of her with some suspicious people were just sent to us." Mr. Iroh replied.

"Who is this man?" her majesty asked pointing at the man Azula was with in the picture.

"A friend of Monk Gyatso, editor-in-chief of a newspaper. I'm pretty sure he met with Princess Azula many times since she has returned. I have a feeling he's the one behind all the articles of the scandals." Mr. Iroh answered.

"Really? Then he might have something to do with the Ba Sing Se tabloids and the mysterious pictures sent to us." her majesty said.

"It's possible, your majesty. We're still searching for the paparazzi, but we can't seem to find them just yet. I think they already took the measures." Mr. Iroh said.

"Probably." her majesty agreed and saw a picture of Jin and Azula having a conversation over some tea.

"That's odd, I never recall Princess Azula ever drinking any tea before..." Mr. Iroh said to himself.

"Find out how this girl is related to Princess Azula." her majesty ordered one of the high positioned court ladies.

"Yes, your majesty."

"You can never tell whats on one's mind." her majesty sighed. "The things she will do out of greed. Any scandals concerning this girl can be fatal to Zuko. Pleas remember Mr. Iroh."

"Yes, you majesty." Mr. Iroh nodded.

--

The two court ladies walked up to Princess Katara and Lady Jade, the High Positioned Court Lady who were both sitting at a table and served some tea and cake to them.

"Lady Jade, you're pretty and have a nice figure too, you must have had many boyfriends." Katara complimented.

Not really knowing what to say, Lady Jade just remained speechless.

"So I was thinking..."

"Please go ahead, your highness." Lady Jade suggested.

"Well, it's not about me, it's about my friend...Suki." Katara quickly said, trying to make it sound like it's not her problem, even though it is. "She seems to have a lot on her mind. She likes this guy but she doesn't know if he likes her back or not. It's pretty confusing."

"..." Lady Jade remained quiet.

"Anyway, this guy used to like someone a lot and the girl can't let go of him so it's pretty tough for her too. And the guy...well, I don't know what he wants. Then should Suki give up? I mean, let him be with the other girl?"

"Does your friend really like him?" Lade Jade asked.

"Of course, you bet!" Katara exclaimed. "I-I mean...I think she does."

"Your highness, listen to your heart. If your heart is true, then it will get through." Lady Jade said.

"..."

"That is the principle of truth."

"Haha, it's not me. I-It's my friend...Suki." Katara chuckled nervously.

"Perhaps your heart already got through to him, your highness." Lady Jade said, obviously knowing that Princess Katara was talking about herself.

"I told you, it's not me." Katara chuckled even more nervously.

--

Zuko walked down by himself the quiet hallway of the hospital, passing by many patients. Once he reached Jin's room, he hesitantly let himself in and found Jin sitting on the chair looking out the window. Seeing as how she didn't react at all about him coming in, he decided to start the conversation.

"Did you hate me that much? Enough to do this?" Zuko asked.

Trying to escape the topic, Jin said something else. "Do you know who Romeo's first love is? It wasn't Juliet, it was Rosaline."

"..."

"Romeo had a crush on Rosaline, so bad he felt like dying. But then he saw Juliet at a party and fell in love with her. And Rosaline was forgotten."

"..."

"Everyone knows about Romeo and Juliet, but no one knows who Rosaline is. Rosaline was just an extra in the play."

"..." Once again, Zuko remained silent.

"A first love that has gone away. An old love that has been forgotten."

"..."

Getting up, Jin asked, "Romeo, why is your love so shallow?"

To be continued...

Sorry this chapter is so short, but I did it like just now. But I think the conversation between Aang and Katara is pretty important.


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

A/N: Okay, I have a something to say today on this update.

I am INCREDIBLY EXTREMELY TERRIBLY OMGEDLY SUPER DUPER SORRY for not updating in over...3 months. God, I'm so ashamed. I hope you all can forgive me!! Anyway, I hope you all can enjoy this update!!

* * *

_Getting up, Jin asked, "Romeo, why is your love so shallow?"_

Zuko, who had caught a sudden interest on the floor, opened his mouth to say something. But no words came out.

"How can it change just like that?" Jin asked once more.

"...I'm sorry." Zuko gulped and avoided her eye contact. Zuko coolly left the room with Jin's eyes lingering on him as he closed the door behind him.

_Slap! Slap! Slap!_ Katara, who was lying on her bed, kept pounding on her red pillow while deep in though with each slap harder each time. Sighing, Katara looked out her window and got up. Peeking from behind a corner, Katara saw Zuko lying carelessly on the couch. Laying her eyes on him again, Katara slowly walked away.

Patiently sitting in the room, PAthik was meditating as Aang silently walked into the room.

"I'm going to go visit Jin. Would you like to come?" Pathik asked with his eyes still closed.

"I feel bad for her." Pathik sighed.

"Well, then, more the reason to come see her." Pathik grinned. "Hold on to one idea for too long and it can be used against us. It's time to use this one."

"You know, it's scary how something so important to one can be so unimportant to another." Aang sighed again.

"What do you mean?" Pathik asked, sounding suspicious.

"If we had met earlier, this wouldn't be happening to her." Aang pondered and said. "Everyone's unhappy because it took so long for us to meet."

Annoyed by Aang's complaint, Guru Pathik replied, "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood to go and visit anyone." Aang finished.

Holding a basket of beautiful fire lilies, Katara thoughtfully walked down the quiet hallway of the hospital. Looking through many windows, Katara finally found the room she was looking for and kept looking through the window.

Jin, who was currently walking down the same hallway, spotted Katara looking at her room. Sighing as if annoyed, Jin kept on walking. By the time Jin made it to her room, Katara saw her.

"Oh, Jin!" Katara greeted and in return, got a bad look from Jin.

"A-Are you okay? Here, take this..." Katara said and held out the basket.

"Go away, I don't wanna see you." Jin replied coldly and walked into her room, leaving Katara standing there, shocked. As soon as Katara had realized what happened, she quickly turned around, but ended up having a door slammed in her face.

She sighed.

"Your majesty, Miss Jin has attempted suicide and is currently at the hospital." Lady Pak informed Queen Ursa.

"What?!" her majesty gasped as her eyes widened.

"Jin did?!" Mr. Iroh gasped too.

"You know her?" her majesty asked.

"Uh, yes. She's Prince Zuko's ex." Mr. Iroh explained. "Not many people know what she went through though. She refused to give up and became an entertainer despite coming from a poor family."

"I see."

"I can't believe someone like her would attempt suicide." Mr. Iroh sighed. "She really must have been hurt by Zuko."

"Damn, it's one thing after another. I don't even know what to do anymore." her majesty sighed.

"Your majesty, this is pretty serious." Lady Pak said.

"We can't let this go out of hand. Lady Pak, is she still in the hospital?"

"Yes, your majesty." Lady Pak replied.

"Do you know what the biggest gossip surrounding the Royal Family is?" Azula asked Jin at the hospital. "It's about whether Zuko is worthy of being on the throne."

"My heart aches whenever I think of him. Who'll stay with him is he gets dethroned?"

"He has Katara." Jin sighed.

"It was an arranged marriage with a condition of Katara's family being saved from bankruptcy. Do you honestly think that their marriage will last? Even after Zuko gets dethroned?"

"..." Jin's eyes widened.

"The way I see it, they aren't getting along well. They're just faking everything because of the rumors."

"You and I both know that Zuko is responsible. He might even still be married to Katara even after he gets dethroned. Do you think a tomboy like Katara can comfort him if that really happens?"

"..." Jin pondered.

"He's bound to come back to you."

"Yeah, but, if it happens, it will be hard on Zuko. And hard for me too."

Azula just grinned evilly. "Do you know what the surest way to heaven is?"

"No."

"It's knowing the way to hell. This is the hell you need to pass to get to your heaven. After getting through this, you can get anything you want." Azula said decievingly.

To be continued...

K, I know this is a terrible chapter and I really think this chapter sucks, and I most definitely know that the "enemy" person is confusing since I'm keep(accidentally) switching them off from Azula to Pathik to Azula to whoever...and I'm even confused myself. And I think that's because the main enemy people is (in the drama) is supposed to be Yul's mom. But since Aang is supposed to play Yul in this story and he doesn't really have a mom, I started with Guru Pathik. But then I accidentally added in Azula. So now I'm so freaking confused!!

And I solemnly swear that the next chapter will probably be up in a few days.

And just to let you know, one of the reasons I'm starting to slow down on my updates is because "Princess Hours" is quite boring. It was sorta funny at first, but now it's just so incredibly boring!! And honestly, I just want to finish this story as quickly as possible so I can get on with all my other stories.

-zkjanie


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